official members. The ex officio members are the Commander British Forces, the Colonial Secretary, the Attorney-General, the Secretary for Home Affairs, and the Financial Secretary. The eight unofficials at present include five local 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 eleven 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, PC, 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 1872 Sir Arthur Kennedy, KCMG, CB 1877 Sir John Pope Hennessy, KCMG 1883 The Rt. Hon. Sir George Ferguson Bowen, PC, GCMG 1887 Sir William Des Voeux, GCMG 1891 Sir William Robinson, GCMG 1898 Sir Henry Arthur Blake, GCMG 1904 Lt.-Col. Sir Matthew Nathan, PC, KCMG 1907 The Rt. Hon. Sir Frederick (later Lord) Lugard, PC, GCMG, CB, DSO 1912 Sir Francis Henry May, GCMG 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 1958 Sir Robert Black, GCMG, OBE 1964 Sir David Trench, GCMG, MC 1971 Sir Crawford Murray MacLehose, KCMG, MBE EXECUTIVE COUNCIL (Presided over by the Governor) The Commander, British Forces (ex-officio) The Secretary for Home Affairs (ex-officio) Appointed Official Member: G. T. Rowe (Director of Social Welfare) Director of Medical and Health Services: Dr G. H. Choa District Commissioner, New Territories: Commissioner of Police: C. P. Sutcliffe, Postmaster-General: M. Addi Commissioner of Prisons: T. G. Garner Director of Water Supplies: A. S. Robertson Director of Building Development: C. R. J. Commissioner of Rating and Valuation: Registrar-General: W. Hume Commissioner for Resettlement: I. M. Director of Royal Observatory: G. J. Bell Chairman, Public Services Commission: JUDICIARY Chief Justice: Sir Ivo Rigby Senior Puisne Judge: W. A. Blair-Kerr Puisne Judges: G. C. Briggs; A. A. Huggins; A. M. McMullin; W. F. Pickerin; READING LIST History: Pre-1841 BALFOUR, S. F. Hong Kong Before the British. Shanghai, 1941. LO, HSIANG-LIN. Hong Kong and its External Communications before 1842: The History of Hong Kong Prior to British Arrival. Hong Kong, 1963. History: Colonial Period ENDACOTT, G. B. A History of Hong Kong. O.U.P., 1958. KIRBY, S. W. The War against Japan: Official History of the Second World War (3 vols.). H.M.S.O., London, 1957-61. Ho, S. DZU-FANG. A Hundred Years of Hong Kong. Ann Arbour, Michigan, 1952. STOKES, G. Hong Kong in History. Hong Kong Government Press, 1965. Social Organisation BAKER, H. Aspects of Social Organisation in the New Territories. Hong Kong Branch of Royal Asiatic Society, 1964. TOPLEY, M. Some Traditional Chinese Ideas and Conceptions in the Hong Kong Social Life Today. Hong Kong Branch of Royal Asiatic Society, 1964. Government and Administration ENDACOTT, G. B. Government and People in Hong Kong. Hong Kong Government Press, 1964. HSEUH, S. S. Government and Administration in Hong Kong. Hong Kong University Press, 1962. Economy SZCZEPANIK, E. F. The Gaqins of Entrepôt Trade. Hong Kong. 1954. PENNELL, W. V. History of the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce. Hong Kong, 1961. General Hong Kong Annual Report, 1971. Hong Kong Government Press, 1972. and available from H.M.S.O., London (SBN 11 580126X). MONTSERRAT ONTSERRAT is part 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, and together with most West Indian Islands Montserrat has a seismographic recording station. There is no well defined rainy season. 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 1971 at the Grove Agricultural Station was 61.21 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 regional census was held in 1970 but no final figures have yet been provided for Montserrat. The estimated population at 30th April 1972 was 13,076 of which about 3,200 live in Plymouth, the capital. The language is English with traces of an Irish brogue in parts of the island. Anglican, Methodist and Roman Catholic are the main religious denominations. The Montserrat Government maintains a 60-bed hospital. The average daily occupancy of beds in 1971 was 32.6. During the same year there were 1,109 admissions and 240 maternity cases, and 137 major and 364 minor operations were carried out. The Government provides free dental treatment for expectant and nursing mothers, school children and old people. There are three health centres and eight dispensaries in the country districts, an infirmary and a cleansing service. Infant mortality rates per 1,000 live births were: There is a family planning association and an old people's welfare association in the island. Agriculture, which a decade ago contributed 41% to the GDP, amounted to only 16% in 1971; the GDP in 1971 having increased to $14 million on a per capita basis of $1,064. Taken together tourism and construction are now the main industries: tourism being closely related to real estate construction around the Belham River Valley Golf Course and in the attractive and heavily wooded areas nearby. At the 30th April 1972 the distribution of employment was recorded as: Considerable effort is being made to redevelop the agricultural industry. Cotton, for long the most important cash crop, is not easy to grow and reap on rock strewn hillsides which make mechanical picking impossible. It is being overtaken by livestock production and market gardening. Experimental work is proceeding on tomatoes, cucumbers, capsicums, melons and egg plants and it is hoped that these can form the basis for a developed market gardening programme aimed both at the export market and the evergrowing internal trade which includes the retiree homes and tourist hotels. The estimated livestock population in 1971 was: cattle 6,500; pigs 1,800; sheep and goats 10,000, poultry 10,500. The island is now self-supporting in eggs. The use of available land on the island in 1972 is shown in the tables below. Since then the area of land farmed has decreased. |