paint, and the public promptly referred to them thereafter as the Red House. This direct ancestor of the present Red House was burnt to the ground on 23 March 1903. On the day of the fire, while a new ordinance regarding the distribution of and payment for water in the town was being debated in the Legislative Council, a protest meeting was held in Brunswick Square by the Ratepayer's Association, as there was much public dissatisfaction over certain clauses contained in the ordinance which increased the water rates. At the end of the meeting, the crowds became noisy and stones were thrown, and all the windows of the original Red House were smashed including a stained glass window in the chamber which was erected to commemorate the arrival of Christopher Columbus in Trinidad. When a woman was arrested by a policeman, the mob became riotous. Stones were thrown into the Council Chamber and the Members were forced to protect themselves under tables and desks and behind the pillars. Still, the Governor, Sir Cornelius Alfred Moloney, refused to withdraw the Ordinance. When it became known that the lower storey of the building was on fire, the riot act was read, following which the police opened fire on the crowd. Sixteen people were killed and forty-two injured, and the Red House was completely gutted. After the fire, only the shell of the original Red House remained. Rebuilding The work of rebuilding it began the following year, and the Red House, as it is known today, was erected on the same site. It was opened to the public on 4 February 1907 by Governor Sir Henry Moore Jackson. The building was designed and built by D. M. Hahn, Chief Draughtsman of the Public Works, at an estimated cost of £7,485. This sum included the gesso work (a mixture of plaster of Paris and glue) in the Legislative Council Chamber and the Justice Hall, which was estimated at £7,200. The work was completed in 1906. The ceiling is the most striking feature in the Chamber. It is Wedgwood blue with white gesso work and was the work of Messrs. Jackson & Sons, an English firm. The decorations were made in England in panels, and shipped to Trinidad in crates. An Italian craftsman was sent to install the ceiling. The entablature and dais at the eastern end were also designed by D. M. Hahn. The