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The Good & True

The Good & True ...issue# 28...February, 2000

Neil Dalhouse

Just My Views

I my view, it was a trip well spent. Buski and I attended the opening celebrations of the 150th. anniversary of the old School in Ja. you have already read the articles about the Opening Mass, the Dedication of the Fr. Quinlan Building, and the Evening of Elegance, so I won't go there again. We were truly impressed with Old Boy, the Honourable Frncis Tulloch, Minister of Tourism, as we noticed he attended all the events. His presence at all three showed how much they meant to him, and raised the bar of their importance, just a couple of notches.  Buski and I certainly made ourselves useful while we were in Ja. We toured the school one day, met with the Celebrations Planning Committee on two  separate occasions, and had a long meeting with Fr. Ted Dziak, President and Chairman of the Board of Management for the school. We found him to be extremely committed to making St. George's the best school on the island. He and his new 'make it happen" committee (as I call them), mirror a saying by Charles de Gaulle, "Nothing great will ever be achieved without great men and women, and they are great only if they are determined to be so." Good luck to them in all their future planning of school activities.
While roaming the school grounds, we were quite impressed with the politeness of many students. In one instance, we walked into 1B classroom with the head boy, Azizi Seixas. There was no teacher in the  room at the time. As we stepped through the door, the entire class stood up immediately and said "Good morning Mr. Seixas".- Wow!  Impressive or what? We also spoke to several 6th. formers, who incidentally now all wear white shirts and school ties. Not one appeared to be shy. When introduced, they each stepped forward briskly, shook hands with us and began engaging in small talk. In my view, all this was reflective of the caliber of teachers now at the school. Boy, I sure hope these kids stick with the school, for without a good education, they will never be eligible to receive an assigned parking spot at work. Oh, I must mention this great cadet, Omar Bell, a first former I said he was no relation to Jackie) who stood tall at attention as part of the honour guard for the dedication of  the Fr. Quinlan building. This smart looking lad seems destined for something great. I wish him luck in what ever it is. 

It's all smiles for the Most Reverend Edgerton Clarke D.D., Archbishop of Kingston and Neil Dalhouse, one of the Toronto old boys' representatives at the opening banquet.

Memories

            Memba when yu a come fram school and stop fi pick Mass john cherry off im cherry tree and dowg run yu dung. Memba when yu madda sen yu fi tek the clothes from off a di line but yu wait til night den yu fraid fi go by yuself. Memba when yu fraid fi go a shop by yuself a night because Miss Matty jus' dead and yu tink yu might Si her duppy. Memba coming from school ina di rain and yu tek off yu shoes and walk barefoot all the way home a race board horse inna di gutter wata. Memba when dem use fi gi weh free milk powder and bulge rice a school, on' yu play milk powder war all the way home. Memba yu roast breadfruit and ackee and salt fish breakfast jus' barely a day afta yu Saturday Peas soup wid yu chocho, turnip, carrot on' punkin. Memba wen teacha beat yu battom because yu neva do yu homework. Memba dem good ole starch unafoam (coudda stan up by demself) and yu nice shine brown or black shoes. Memba when yu madda use fi seh "Go pick a switch mek a beat yu". Memba when a guinep seed fly dung yu throat and smaddy 'ave fi lick yu back fi mek it fly back up. Memba when yu swallow  chewing gum & dem seh yu a go ded cause it a go tie up yu tripe. Memba a play marble wid yu bredren dem. Memba a go a bush wid yu fadda. Memba a go undoneat the cellar fi the fowl egg. Memba when yu lost yu madda money and yu fraid fi go back home because she might beat yu. Memba settin up the cock dem fi fight. Memba all dem good duppy story, and nancy story wi 'ear growing up. IF YU MEMBA ANY OF THIS, YU OLD NUH RAHTID !!

AAA GAANNEEEEEI

Francis Tulloch - a Tribute

THERE IS a tendency in societies such as ours to wait until those who have served well, deport unheralded to their groves only to be recognized some time after or be forgotten forever. With the advent of a challenging change in an era some special people have mode their presence felt. Dr. Kenneth McNeill, the Rt. Hon. Hugh Lawson Shearer, the Hon. Francis Tulloch and the Rt. Hon. Edward PG. Seaga come to mind. To join these exemplars, we ask Francis Tulloch to rise.
      On August 5, 1940 in the then quiet, peaceful and affluent community of Vineyard Town, Samuel Vincent Tulloch, eminent Alpha Band Master and his charming wife, Rhea, nee Henriques, become the proud parents of another son - Francis. Young Tulloch was educated at Ralnar Preparatory School and St. George's College; where he excelled not only in academics but also in the field of sports. He loved cricket with a passion, making the All Sunlight Team two consecutive years. His  crowning experience was his selection while still a schoolboy to represent the St. George's Old Boys side at the Senior Cup level and hitting a  memorable 121 against the then all-powerful Railway Cricket Club. From St. George's College, he moved on to Lincoln's Inn where he was  called to the Bar in 1963.
      His career as a legal luminary started in 1963 on Duke Street. He left in 1964 for the Bahamas where he joined the legal firm L.O. Pindling and Company. He returned to Jamaica in 1969 to join the firm Dunn Cox and Orrett, Montego Boy.
      It was not long before he set up his own office, Tulloch Wolfe and Company, soon to become Tulloch Wolfe Ford and Company; with the departure of Ford it was back to Tulloch Wolfe and Company.  
     The year 1971 signaled a turning point in the life of this brilliant, forthright, shrewd, good-natured and tolerant son of the soil. He entered the political arena for the first time as the PNP Caretaker for Central St. James, the largest constituency in the parish. This seat was won by Dr. Herbert W. Eldemire for the JLP in 1967 who polled 4,820 votes to the PNP's Herbert L Morrison's, 3,986. Young Tulloch was faced with quite a challenge as Central St. James was among the constituencies specially carved out by the "Master of gerrymandering" Archie Singham during the 1966-67 constituencies boundaries alignment to ensure JLP victory for at least two consecutive terms.
Dominance
      To the surprise of many JLP dominance in Central St. James was short-lived as Tulloch defeated the JLP's Tony Hart, a leading businessman in Montego Bay, by a comfortable majority of 2,255 in the  February 29, 1972 General Election. A remarkable feat, no wonder he was dubbed "Little David".
      In 1976, the number of constituencies increased from three to four namely St. James East Central, North Western, West Central and Southern. Tulloch was asked to contest the newly created West Central constituency. Once again he defeated the JLP challenger; but this time it was Winston P. Waif, the margin 2,983. By polling 6,708 votes he increased his 1972 majority by 728. Shortly after his appointment as Minister of State for Transport, he closed his legal practice. However, he returned to law as Francis Tulloch and Company soon after the 1980 general election which he never contested.
      In 1983 although not present at the West Central St. James constituency conference, he was elected chairman, that position he held until his retirement from active politics in 1 986 when he decided to concentrate mare on his tourism business. Two years later, the incumbent PNP faced with a crisis of leadership in Eastern Hanover badly needed a candidate who could unite the factions and retain the seat in the upcoming 1993 general election.
      Tulloch was the right person. However, after nearly 13 years out of  Parliament and the head of a striving tourism business, would he came out of retirement to once again serve his party and country? This selfless Jamaican when called upon to serve once again, accepted the challenge. So, unlike Julius Caesar who crossed the Rubicon in BC 49 to start a war with Pompey, Tulloch crossed into the parish of the Hanoverians, uniting the PNP factions and swept to victory on March 30, 1993.
     His final and most remarkable achievement came four years later when he crowned his unique political career with yet another amazing victory.
      In 1997, as the incumbent PNP second term in office entered its final year, the constituency of St. James North Western was bitterly divided and made worse by the fact that the sitting Member of Parliament Carl Miller had indicated to the party that due to ill-health he could not continue to represent the constituency. The PNP leadership was once  again in a quandary as no party since adult suffrage in 1944 had ever won a third term and St. James North West was among the many marginal PNP constituencies. Other hurdles to overcome were the low 50.7 percent turn-out in 1993 and the record 57.5 per cent increase in the voters list during the 1997 enumeration exercise. 
Salt to the wound
      To add salt to the wound, some 3,682 electors who supported the PNP in 1989 did not vote in 1993. So with the voters list moving from 18,347 in 1993 to 29,000 in 1997 the question could be asked, how would the additional 10,653 votes be distributed amongst the three panties? It was anybody's guess.
      On the other hand, the PNP majority for Eastern Hanover in 1993 was 1,687, a mere 163 short of twice the majority in St. James North West. Based on these statistics, it would have been foolhardy of the incumbent Member of Parliament for Hanover Eastern to leave the safety of his constituency to contest a borderline seat in another parish. The only difference is that the incumbent MP for Eastern Hanover was no less a person than Francis Tulloch. So once again, not to be daunted by the competitiveness of the contest, Francis in his inimitable style took up the challenge. For him, December 1 8, 1997 turned out to be a date that he would remember for his entire life as he created history in so many ways.
      The following achievements were indeed unique:
      He is the only Jamaican Parliamentarian to defeat the same candidate Dr. Horace Chang, JLP in two different parishes in consecutive elections.
      He is the only MP to have successfully contested four General Elections in four different constituencies competing in two different parishes.
      He is the only Member of Parliament to have served four terms and never sat on the Opposition side of Parliament: 1972-1980 and 1993-1999.
      I am sure not many Jamaicans are aware of the fact that this great Jamaican was a Vice President of the PNP. The story is told of young Tulloch being visited by two very extreme members of the PNP left wing on a Saturday morning in September 1977 an the day of the Vice Presidential election.
      He was advised of the need to have a Vice President representing the Western end of Jamaica by these two gentlemen who persuaded him to challenge the incumbent although there was no vacancy.
      Can you imagine Francis Tulloch, a known "moderate" opposing a member of his own ilk?  Putting his party and the comrades in Region 6 first, he took up what could be regarded as a Herculean task and ended up defeating another great Jamaican, William V. Isaacs.
      As Minister of Tourism he is held in very high esteem at all levels in the tourism sector. However, his imminent departure from the political scene will leave a void that will not be easily filled. In spite of this fact, there is still hope as I am of the firm opinion that should his health be fully restored and his doctors so ordered, Tulloch could return to serve his beloved country in whatever capacity so chosen sometime in the future. Such is the indomitable character of this noble Jamaican.
      A recent poll conducted in the constituencies in which he served stretching from Greenwood on the border of St. James and Trelawny to the Lucea River in Eastern Hanover, speaks volumes to his kindness, mildness and magnanimity. His rating was a high 81.7 per cent. A "God bless man" was the common line throughout the responses to the  question: "Francis Tulloch will shortly be quitting politics due to ill-health, how do you see him as a politician?"
Political toil
      There is no doubt that Tulloch became an indispensable party man in times of crisis. It Is a fact that a preponderance of his thinking and political toil has been bent towards the attainment and preservation  of harmony and unity among his party supporters and the wider Jamaica. A man firm in the belief that no man should willingly plant a thorn in another man's bosom, it gave him no pleasure to triumph over anyone,  consequently he never boasted of his unique political achievement.
      To still the quarrels of factions - to soothe the vanity of his colleagues and to sustain the faltering are the hallmarks of this great giant of a politician, a man of perfect integrity, great ability and marked persistence. I have always been struck by the dignity of his bearing, the grace of his diction, and the ladies will say, "the charm of his voice", things which greatly distinguish him.
      To this unique politician, "anger turns the mind out of doors and bolts the door; that is, it interferes with clear thinking". No wonder he is so thoughtful, considerate of interest, highly self controlled and restrained.
      I can say without fear of contradiction that posterity will be kind to this distinguished statesman. He will stand in history beside great Jamaicans like Alexander Bustamante, Norman Washington Manley, Hugh Lawson Shearer; Michael Manley, Edward P.O. Seaga and Percival James Patterson, perhaps higher.
      Rise Sir Francis, enter thou into the political Hall of Fame. 

      *  Tony Myers is a political statistician and analyst. (Excerpt from the Gleaner)

Leighton Dixon, (sweet boy) Donald Miller, Neil and Dynamite Lyn

The Bongo Group performing at the Dedication of Fr. Quinlan Building

Buski and Neil in seventh heaven (Jamaica). The angel is
 Melanie (Chang) Bitter, hostess par excellence

Pat Lee, Quintus, Stanley Chin, Greg Lee & Robbie Vernon
 after breakfast at the Boston Reunion

Part 2

Part 1

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