The 1887 Knutsford Constitution – Joseph F. Grima

In 1849, Malta was granted a constitution with a partially-elected Council of Government when, for the first time, the Maltese were allowed to vote for eight of the 18 members, albeit in a very restricted franchise. This Constitution, with its ups and downs, endured till 1887 when, on December 12, Letters Patent were promulgated for the formation of a Council of Government consisting of 20 members, 14 of whom were to be elected. It is known as the Knutsford Constitution, named after Sir Henry Holland, First Viscount Knutsford, who was the current Secretary of State for the Colonies.

Portrait by Arthur S. Cope of Sir Henry Holland, 1st Viscount Knutsford (1825-1914), after whom the 1887 Constitution is named. Photo: En.wikipedia.org

Maltese local affairs were not so rosy during the last decades of the 19th century, as clearly shown in a letter by the then Governor of Malta, Sir John A. Lintorn Simmons, to Lord Derby, Secretary of State for the Colonies, in which he wrote that “Malta should be regarded as always in a state of siege” and that the Maltese should never have been allowed to have had a Council of Government.

In the council, Simmons was very antagonistic to Dr Fortunato...