and the Financial Secretary. The eight unofficials at present include four Chinese members. The main function of the Executive Council is to advise the Governor, who must consult its members on all important matters. The responsibility for deciding which questions should come before the Council and for taking action afterwards rests with the Governor, who is required to report his reasons fully to the Secretary of State if he acts in opposition to the advice given by members. The Governor in Council (i.e. the Governor in the Executive Council) is also given power under numerous ordinances to make subsidiary legislation by way of rules, regulations and orders. A further function of the Council is to consider appeals and petitions under certain ordinances. With the exception of the Commander British Forces, the ex officio members of the Executive Council serve also on the Legislative Council, of which the Governor is both a member and the President. In addition, there are eight nominated official members, making a total official membership of thirteen. There is an equal number of unofficial members, nominated by the Governor. At present they include ten Chinese members, one of them a woman. The laws of Hong Kong are enacted by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Legislative Council, which controls finance and expenditure through its Finance Committee, on which three officials and all the unofficial members sit. Procedure in the Legislative Council is based on that of the House of Commons. LIST OF GOVERNORS 1843 The Rt. Hon. Sir Henry Pottinger, BT, GCB 1844 Sir John F. Davis, BT, KCB 1848 Sir George Bonham, BT, KCB 1854 Sir John Bowring 1859 The Rt Hon. Sir Hercules Robinson (later Lord Rosmead), GCMG 1866 Sir Richard MacDonnell, KCMG, CB 1872 Sir Arthur Kennedy, KCMG, CB 1877 Sir John Pope Hennessy, KCMG 1883 The Rt. Hon. Sir George Ferguson Bowen, GCMG 1887 Sir William Des Voeux, GCMG 1891 Sir William Robinson, GCMG 1898 Sir Henry Arthur Blake, GCMG 1903 Lt.-Col. Sir Matthew Nathan, KCMG 1907 The Rt. Hon. Sir Frederick (later Lord) Lugard, GCMG, CB, DSO 1919 Sir Reginald Stubbs, GCMG 1925 Sir Cecil Clementi, GCMG 1930 Sir William Peel, KCMG, KBE 1935 Sir Andrew Caldecott, KCMG, CBE 1937 Sir Geoffrey Northcote, KCMG 1941 Sir Mark Young, GCMG 1947 Sir Alexander Grantham, GCMG EXECUTIVE COUNCIL The Commander, British Forces (ex-officio) Nominated Unofficial Members: J. D. Clague, CBE, MC, QPM, TD S. S. Gordon, CBE Kan Yuet-keung, CBE J. A. H. Saunders, CBE, DSO, MC Tang Ping-yuan, CBE Clerk of Councils: R. W. Primrose, MBE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL The Governor (President) (ex-officio) The Secretary for Home Affairs (ex-officio) 8 Appointed Official Members: Dr G. H. Choa (Director of Medical and Health Services) R. M. Hetherington, DFC (Commissioner of Labour) J. Cater, MBE (Director of Commerce and Industry) D. R. W. Alexander, MBE (Director of Urban Services) J. J. Robson (Director of Public Works) D. C. C. Luddington (District Commissioner, New Territories) J. Canning (Director of Education) Paul Tsui Ka-cheung, OBE (Commissioner for Resettlement) 13 Nominated Unofficial Members: Wilfred Wong Sien-bing, OBE Dr Chung Sze-yuen, OBE Oswald V. Cheung, QC Deputy Clerk of Councils: R. J. Frampton Director of Agriculture and Fisheries: E. H. Nichols Director of Audit: D. G. Britton, OBE Commissioner of Census and Statistics: K. W. J. Topley Director of Broadcasting: D. E. Brooks Director of Education: J. Canning Director of Immigration: W. W. E. Collard Commissioner of Labour: R. M. Hetherington, DFC Director of Building Development: P. V. Shawe General Manager, Kowloon-Canton Railway: Lam Po-hon, Iso Commissioner of Rating and Valuation: N. Cooke Registrar-General: W. Hume Commissioner for Resettlement: Paul Tsui Ka-Cheung, OBE Director of Royal Observatory: G. J. Bell Director of Social Welfare: G. T. Rowe Controller of Government Supplies: G. A. Lemay, ED Commissioner of Transport: A. J. Shephard Director of Urban Services: D. R. W. Alexander, MBE Chairman, Public Services Commission: Sir Charles Hartwell, CMG JUDICIARY Chief Justice: Sir Ivo Rigby Senior Puisne Judge: A. D. Scholes Puisne Judges: W. A. Blair-Kerr; G. G. Briggs; A. A. Huggins; R. H. Mills-Owen; A. M. McMullin READING LIST Registrar, Supreme Court: E. S. Haydon BALFOUR, S. F. Hong Kong before the British. Shanghai, 1941. ENDACOTT, G. B. Government and people in Hong Kong, 1841-1962. A constitutional history. O.U.P., 1965. Ho, S. Dzu-FANG. A Hundred Years of Hong Kong. Ann Arbor, Michigan, 1952. Hong Kong Annual Report, 1969. Hong Kong Government Press, 1969. SZCZEPANIK, E. F. The Gains of Entrepôt Trade. Hong Kong, 1954. MONTSERRAT ONTSERRAT was discovered by Christopher Columbus in 1493. It is part M of the Leeward Islands group of the Lesser Antilles in the Eastern Caribbean, latitude 16° 45′ N., longitude 62° 10′ W., and has an area of 39.5 square miles. It is entirely volcanic, very mountainous and comprises three main mountain ranges, Silver Hills in the north (1,323 feet), Centre Hills (2,429 feet) and Soufrière Hills with Chance Peak, (3,000 feet) in the south. The coastline is rugged and offers no all weather harbour although there are several anchorages in the lee of the island sheltered from the prevailing trade winds. There are seven active soufrières in Montserrat. Montserrat together with most West Indian islands has a seismographic recording station. There is no well defined rainy season in Montserrat. Normally the first six months of the year are drier than the last six months, a 50-year average showing 23.55 inches for January to June and 39.74 inches for July to December. The rainfall in 1969 at the Grove Agricultural Station was 60-49 inches against the 50-year average of 63·29 inches. The coolest time of the year when temperatures have been as low as 15.5°C (60°F) is between the months of December and March. The hottest time of the year is between June and November which is also the hurricane season. The average mean minimum temperature is 23°C (73.5°F) and the mean maximum temperature is 30°C (86.5°F). A complete census was held in April 1970. Preliminary figures indicate a population of 12,300 which shows a negligible increase over the 1960 Census due to large scale emigration in the early sixties. During 1969, 264 births and 138 deaths were registered. Plymouth, the capital, had a population of 1,911 at the 1960 census. It is now estimated to have a population of 3,000 as there has been the familiar drift to the town from country villages. The language is English but traces of an Irish brogue can be found in parts of the island. Anglican, Methodist and Roman Catholic are the main religious denominations but in recent years Seventh Day Adventist and Pentecostal persuasions have assumed an increasing importance. The Montserrat Government maintains a 60-bed hospital. The average daily occupancy of beds in 1969 was 30. During the same year there were 1,111 admissions and 181 maternity cases, and 120 major and 390 minor operations were carried out. The Government provides free dental treatment for expectant and nursing mothers, school children and old people. The Government also operates three health centres and eight dispensaries in the country districts, an infirmary and a cleansing service. There is a family planning association and an old people's welfare association in the island. Infant mortality rates per 1,000 live births were: Under one month 1969 1968 1967 1966 Montserrat is still an agricultural island with sea island cotton as its principal money crop. Unfavourable weather conditions, overcropping and resulting erosion over a number of years have had an adverse effect on output but efforts are being made to diversify and increase agricultural production and also to expand markets abroad for the island's produce. Estate cultivation is now almost non-existent and most agriculture is in the hands of peasant farmers. In view of this a Land Settlement expert is presently advising Government on the reallocation of Crown Land so as to provide small farmers with fully viable holdings and to decrease the number of part-time farmers who now have more lucrative jobs connected with the tourist industry. Since 1963 real estate development and tourism have been playing an ever increasing role in the economic development of the territory. There are three registered trade unions with a total membership of about 440. The estimated distribution of employment in December 1967 was as follows: The cotton crop for 1967-68 and 1968-69 totalled 269 and 270 bales from 690 and 512 acres respectively. The 1969-70 crop of 280 acres yielded over 90 bales. The future of cotton now greatly depends upon the successful application of mechanical harvesting in some of the other Caribbean territories. The problem is not to break the extra long staples which give West Indies Sea Island Cotton its distinctive quality. Mechanisation is probably impossible in Montserrat due to the hilly terrain. Great efforts are now being made to redevelop the agricultural industry. Potential markets for Montserrat produce are now being explored right from Canada through the entire Caribbean and in Europe. As a result of this work very considerable markets are being found for Montserrat produce. There is a large local market for a wide range of vegetables, together with a lot of scope in the main tourist areas of the Caribbean. Exports to both Canada and the United Kingdom are expected to develop during 1970. Experimental work is currently proceeding in tomatoes, cucumbers, capsicums, melons, and egg plants and it is hoped to greatly extend this work in the near future. It is planned to encourage the expansion of both market garden production and specialised production. The lime industry is to be revived and hot peppers are to be developed. The estimated livestock population in 1969 was: cattle 7,700; pigs 4,800; sheep 5,700; goats 3,400. There has been a considerable increase in poultry production and the island is now self-supporting in eggs. The use of available land on the island in 1967 is shown in the tables below. Since then the area of land farmed has decreased. |