The following is a flashback to 3rd March 1984. Nashville Webster was at Island Harbour campaigning for re-election in that District. He was successful. In looking at his campaign speech one gets some idea of the quality of our politics back then and is in a position to compare it with present day politics and determine whether we are maturing politically.

Here is the Honourable Nashville Webster, former Minister of Communications, Works and Public Utilities:

. . . Good evening . . . It is a pleasure for me to stand here once again, and I’m sure that you will agree with me that you are proud to have me as your candidate.

The rumour is that this government must have had a fight inside why we are calling elections. But I’m sure that you have heard the Chief Minister (Ronald Webster) speak to you tonight. You have heard the Honourable Osbourne Fleming and the Honourable Victor Banks, and now you have me on the stand. If there was a fight I am sure that you will agree with me that we couldn’t be out here together asking for your support . . .

[Well] the new rumour is out that Mr Spadaro brought over 50,000 dollars and gave it to me and the Chief Minister. I wish I had some! But you see they can’t find anything to say and they are saying all sorts of things.
It is a fact that anyone of the ministers of this government can go any part of the world and represent you. But I want you to take away Mr Gumbs (Emile) from ANA and tell me which one can go abroad to represent you! None of them! . . .

Two years ago when we were sworn in office the Chief Minister didn’t have a telephone in East End. We made a visit to Barbados to Cable and Wireless and said to them that nowhere in the world a man will become Chief Minister and . . . cannot get a telephone. But it is because of the initiative of this government why you in the East End area, and the Chief Minister, can now enjoy the use of a telephone . . . Yet they are saying that we are not doing anything.

In this eastern area, you will agree with me that if it was not for our government maybe tonight you would not have electricity. Electricity move in the eastern area at such a pace that even the British Government said they cannot understand how we manage to get it done so fast . . . Well if this is not progress what do you call progress?

[Again] a Vocational Centre is something which this Government have done for the young people of Anguilla . . . You can learn to be a waitress, hotel trades on a whole. You can learn electricity, auto mechanics. If you do not have it in your brain, you can use your hands . . . This government has made that possible, yet they are saying we did nothing.

But it is true, you know! It even happen with children. Children sometimes after their parents have sweat in blood and tears, on their knees scrubbing floors, to bring them up – sometimes when those children come up, they tend to forget their parents. And when they go away they never write back. They never bother to call their mother or father to say, “Daddy or Mammy, I love you.” It is a fact that a politician will get nothing but a slap on his backside when he have killed himself for you...

My opponent (Kenneth Harrigan) said that he is going to give me a job in the Cannon Ball . . . They say he’s a joker in the pack. He knows full well that he have lost already. . . . I’ve stood and pass my test long ago: When Colonel Claudius Roberts and Mr Hubert Hughes planned [allegedly], along with Mr Jeremiah Gumbs, to overthrow this Government . . . they planned their strategy . . . when the Chief Minister went to Antigua to a meeting of the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB). But what they had forgotten was that the Chief Minister made it clear to the Governor, . . . and announced to the entire Council, that whenever he was leaving the island Nashville Webster was responsible for his portfolio – was in charge until he gets back. So when the Chief Minister gave me his keys, and gave Mr Petty the next set of keys, I knew what my responsibility was.

When Mr Roberts called me he said: “You lil son of a gun, yer not even a Minister and if you don’t give me those keys, today, what I wouldn’t do would yer!” And I look at him. I said: “Mr Roberts, you could be big, but believe it or not I’ll put yer on de ground today!” . . . When they realise that they couldn’t get through and they knew that I was going to contact the Chief Minister, Hubert caught the aeroplane and went to Antigua and told the Chief Minister that Roberts is down here making strife . . . [Shortly after] I went to Barbados and when I called back, the Chief Minister told me that everything was under control: he had stripped Roberts, and Hubert resign...

[The Opposition] are still sending me messages: “Come over, Nashville! You are the best man in the Government! Come over! What do you want? Do you want to become Chief Minister? We are willing to make you Chief Minister to join us!” I really didn’t intend bringing this on the platform but since they gettin dutty I can get dutty too.

About thirty six of them held me for three hours at Island Harbour begging me to join the ANA. Who dey want to get rid of is Ronald Webster. He ain’t no good. “You are the man that can do it,” they say. “You are the main man in this country today.” . . . Three people came nine o’ clock the night in my house sitting down. And they said: “What yer going to do?” I said, “Take me to Ronald!”

. . . [I then told them] whatever you have to offer me, bring it in writing. So the message came back saying if I were to come on the park and denounce Ronald Webster and the party, they will give it to me in writing. But Nashville Webster ain’t a fool. He knows when there’s a trap from and when there isn’t a trap. I go on the park, I denounce Ronald Webster and then the ANA kick Nashville Webster in he backside . . .

I have always stood on my own two feet. I’ve always been a man. Nobody can bribe me. Nobody can buy me ’cause I’m not for sale.

. . . A lot of ANA people was there when the offers were made [to me]. They even said: “What more do you want? Do you want us to get a referendum from the people to prove that the people want you?” I know that I’ve done a good job. But yet they are saying that there is corruption inside. They are saying that I accepted money. But if I had accepted money I woulda tell yer “keep the election” and I woulda resign.

But the Chief Minister got a lot of guts. I never hear a man get more curses in my life, and what make me wonder, sometimes, is that he don’t get mad. I goin tell yer the honest truth. If I had what the Chief Minister have I wouldn’t bother. I would let them take Anguilla and do whatever they want wid it. Because the Chief Minister do not tell them his guts, don’t tell them his business, don’t tell them that when he build a house in Anguilla that he sold an acre or two of land in St Martin to build it, they are saying that he accept bribes – he take money under de table. I had never seen it happen.

I really do not understand what the man has done them. Most of the things you hear are personal grievances. Nashville [Lake] got up on this platform and cursed the Chief Minister. Yer know why? He wanted the Chief Minister to deport Claxton because he had a fight wid him. He came in the office three times begging us to deport Claxton after the case was thrown out. This is what happens when we can’t do what they want. The Chief Minister ain’t the head Immigration Officer, but every blame goes on Ronald Webster. If the Lord send the rain and the pond flood, Ronald Webster flood the pond.

In 1980, when I stand for office the cries against the Chief Minister was grievous. They said that Ronald Webster was worse than a dog, when he turned back to his vomit, by accepting Hubert Hughes to run wid him. [But the said ANA] has plans to use Hubert. Hubert was bad for Ronald but he is now good for them. Hubert have aspirations . . . to become Chief Minister so if ANA think they gonna fool Hubert this time they making a mistake. I told the Chief Minister that if by chance the elections go three - three - one, and he think about using Hubert, Nashville Webster would resign. I don’t want to see the son of a gun! Hubert think he’s smart, but he can’t fool Nashville Webster. If anybody believe that Hubert is going to accept a lower position than Chief Minister, they making a mistake.

I now call on you to vote for Nashville Webster . . . And you know what the people is saying? “I am the man of the hour. I’m the man wid the power. And I’m too sweet to be sour.”
One of my strong supporters said that a man told him . . . that we accept money from Cuba through the backdoor to build an international airport. But they didn’t tell you that Marcel Fahie who’s a “Hand” went to Cuba . . . But they jump on Victor Banks to say Victor accept money under de table. They are now saying that the only one in the party who don’t have anything (money) is Nashville Webster. They see Victor Banks building a house. They don’t know how he got it. I am sure he told them on the platform that he borrow the money to build de house. Because he’s building a house they figure he got money under de table.

. . . I got to give you a lil bit of history this afternoon. I have travelled to represent you . . . and sometimes when I think back on what I have gone through, tears come to my eyes. When I call my mother and say, “Mammy, I got to go to Jamaica” right away she burst out in a flood of tears. It’s mi mother. She love me. Then I think back on my children and my wife. But I said, in all of this I have accepted the responsibility to represent you.

I went to Jamaica in 1981 to a conference . . . I was on the fourteenth floor of the hotel - six hundred rooms - and fourteen shots was fired in the hotel that night. But I prayed to God and ask him to protect me . . .

I went to Columbia . . . where we got money from the CDB to buy the new generator for the new power station . . . I as a minister of gov’ment had to go into a hotel room where I was guarded by five policemen. Each man had three guns on him. I had never seen so many guns in my life. Myself and Mr Franklin Connor walked out of the hotel to go by the edge of the beach and we were pulled back inside: “You have to stay in here because we cannot guarantee your safety outside.” When I got back to Anguilla, I saw Mr Connor went on his knees on the airport and he say: “Praise God, never me again!” . . . We risk our lives sometimes to help all Anguillians, and if you can say that we’re doing nothing, I would say you’re most ungrateful.

If they (the ANA) were really to win the election, who will be your ministers? If a minister can’t go abroad and deliver himself – can’t stand up and fight – Anguilla ain’t goin get nothing. You think it’s easy when I go to Barbados? We have to pound, we have to hit on the table. We have to say, “This is what we want for Anguilla!” It’s no easy thing . . .

Because of our initiative, we got the British Government to arrange to fly a generator [to Anguilla] and the ANA supporters went all over the island saying: “Never happen! You’ll never see it happen!” The day when the generator came in the bunch of “Hands” turn off from the airport. They couldn’t witness it.

. . . The Chief Minister couldn’t put me in a better area to work because I remember, Christmas before last I worked. I spoil a brand new shirt and pants. I didn’t mind. I took my shirt off and I worked from 8’ o’clock the morning on the generator myself so that you would have power. And I gave you power that night eleven thirty. I don’t mind digging the holes. I accustom of digging holes . . .

I have such a hard job . . . It isn’t easy when I lie down sometimes on my bed at night and my wife ask me what’s wrong. I get up two, three o’clock, in the morning. I writing – making my notes – to know what I got to do tomorrow, where is this coming from, what we need in this area, which is best.

. . . You look at your airport. Last year WINAIR wrote three letters saying that they will discontinue flights into Anguilla because the airport was in a bad condition . . . I went to Barbados and I begged them. I said: “We gotta have this thing resurface.” Yet they are saying we’re doing nothing. Look at the lights. Tonight, if we had an extreme emergency we can go to the airport and throw on one switch and any aeroplane can take off . . . Before that, we had to put twelve cars on the airport to light it up and that was extremely dangerous . . .

[Now] Old Age Pension . . . When we campaign in 1980 they said that it’s no way we can give Old Age Pension because the British Government will not give us its taxpayers money to assist our old people. But I listen to the Chief Minister fight. He rant and he raged and even said: “If yer not prepared to give me this, take it all.” And we got it . . .

This Government have fulfilled its promises. It will continue to work for the people . . . They are saying that we are buying votes. I don’t know who buying votes. I haven’t bought one yet. Up to now I went to two people houses and not to ask them to vote for me. I went by Florelle which is family . . . I am confident that I have already won my seat and I know that you is gonna vote for me, the man that’s too sweet to be sour.

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