Born in Cedros in southwest Trinidad, David was mentored by author John Jacob Thomas and educated at Queen's Royal College in Port of Spain.
After being called to the bar at Gray's Inn in 1889, David returned to Trinidad where he practiced law and became the secretary of the Legislative Reform Committee.
After being rejected for the position of stipendiary magistrate in Couva by the Colonial Office, David was appointed to the Legislative Council by Governor Cornelius Alfred Moloney as an unofficial member in 1904.
[3]: 76 After returning from Britain, David became involved with the Legislative Reform Committee, a radical group which campaigned for elected government and a semi-representative franchise.
[4]: 109 Under the umbrella of the Ratepayers' Association and supported by young lawyers including David, Emmanuel Mzumbo Lazare, and Edgar Maresse-Smith, radicals pushed back against the erosion of local influence in the administration of the colony.
In a 1902 article in The Trinidad Magazine, David argued that as long as Britain persisted in treating the colonies as merely "fields for the raising of tropical produce and taxpayers" the "demonstrations of loyalty on our part remain a hollow mockery".
[1] In December 1903 Governor Cornelius Alfred Moloney recommended David for the position of stipendiary magistrate in Couva, describing him as "a lawyer in high standing [who] has the reputation of being a man of strong character and undoubted probity" and "the most suitable selection open to our choice".
[1] David was an opponent of the importation of Indian indentured labour to Trinidad and Tobago, believing it to be the cause of depressed wages among the local working class.
[1] When John Jacob Thomas died impoverished in England in 1889, David (with financial assistance from Mzumbo Lazare) ensured that he received a proper burial.