Legislative COUNCIL Speaker: Yang Amat Mulia Pengiran Jaya Negara, Pengiran Haji Abu Bakar bin Pengiran 'Umar, DK, DSNB, MBE, PHBS, POAS, PJK, Brunei Ex-officio Members: State Financial Officer 5 Official Members namely Yang Amat Mulia Pengiran Setia Raja, Pengiran Jaya bin Pengiran Haji Rajid, DK, DHPNB, PHBS, PJK, Brunei Yang Berhormat Pehin Orang Kaya Amar Diraja, Dato Seri Utama (Dr) Awang Haji Mohd. Jamil Al-Sufri bin Begawan Pehin Udana Khatib Dato Seri Paduka Awang Haji 'Umar, DK, DSLJ, DPMB, PHBS, POAS, PJK, Brunei Yang Berhormat Dato Seri Laila Jasa Haji Talib bin Derwish, DSLJ, SMB, PHBS, PJK, Brunei Yang Berhormat Orang Kaya Pekerma Indera, Haji Jili bin Ibrahim, PSB, PHBS, Tutong Yang Berhormat Pehin Orang Kaya Seri Dewa, Lt. Col. Dato Setia Mohammad bin Haji Daud, DSNB, DSLJ, DPMB, PHBS, Brunei 9 Nominated Members namely Yang Berhormat Awang Haji Sapawi bin Metassim, Kuala Belait Yang Berhormat Orang Kaya Pekerma Dewa, Awang Lukan bin Uking, POAS, Brunei Yang Berhormat Pehin Datu Singamenteri, Awang Ariff bin Mujun, SMB, Kuala Belait Yang Berhormat Pehin Bendahari China Kornia Diraja, Hong Kok Tin, SNB, SLJ, PSB, POAS, Kuala Belait Yang Berhormat Pehin Datu Laila Raja, Awang Haji Abu Bakar bin Baha, SMB, Temburong Yang Berhormat Pengiran Haji Abu Bakar bin Pengiran Mohd. Salleh, SLJ, Brunei Yang Berhormat Pehin Orang Kaya Seri Setia, Awang Haji Ali bin Ismail, Brunei Yang Berhormat Awang Haji Abu Hanifah bin Mohd. Said, PHBS, Tutong Yang Berhormat Pehin Orang Kaya Digadong Seri Lela, Dato Seri Utama Awang Mohamed Taha bin Pehin Ratna Diraja Awang Hussein, DK, SPMB, DSNB, POAS, PHBS, PJK, Brunei CIVIL ESTABLISHMENT General Adviser to His Highness the Sultan: CVO, OBE, PHBS, PJK State Secretary: Yang Berhormat Dato Seri Laila Utama Idris Talog Davies, DK, DK, SPMB, DSNB, CBE, PHBS, PJK State Religious Affairs Officer: Yang Chief Justice: Mr McMullin J. Commissioner of Police: Yang Amat Mulia Commander Royal Brunei Malay Regiment: Pahlawan B. F. L. Rooney, PSPNB, Clerk of Councils: Awang Judin bin Asar, SLJ, POAS Establishment Officer: Yang Berhormat Pehin Orang Kaya Dato Setia Diraja, Controller of State Pensions: Director of Surveyor General: Awang James William Commissioner of Development: Awang Controller of Customs and Excise: Yang Amat Mulia Pengiran Lela Cheteria Sahibon Najabah, Pengiran Anak Haji 'Abdul Aziz bin Pengiran Jaya Negara, Pengiran Haji Abu Bakar, DK, PHBS Controller of Government Stores: Awang A. S. Newn, SLJ, PJK Director of Marine: Yang Di-Muliakan Pehin Datu Tambanglayaran Laila Diraja Awang Jack Turner, SMB Postmaster General: Dato Paduka Awang Haji Alikhan bin Abdul Khan, DPMB, SNB, PJK Superintendent of Prison: Pengiran Dato Paduka Hidup bin Pengiran Hashim, DPMB, SNB Controller of Fire Brigade: Awang Yacob bin Haji Yusof (Acting) Controller of Land Transport: Awang 'Abidin bin Abdul Rashid, SMB, POAS Director of Civil Aviation: Awang P. Hadfield Conservator of Forests: Awang Mahari bin Mohd. Said Chief Electrical Engineer: Awang E. F. Brown, SNB Controller of Immigration: Dato Seri Laila Jasa T. P. Forde, DSLJ, OBE Chief Registrar Supreme Court: Awang Charlie Foo Chee Tung, SMB Chief Magistrate: Awang Haji Ali bin Auditor General: Dato Paduka G. T. Director of Medical Services: Yang Ber- Director of Agriculture: Awang R. B. Woodroofe, OBE Commissioner of Labour: Awang Mohd. Ali bin Haji Besar, SMB, PJK Chief Adat Istiadat Officer: Yang Teramat Mulia Seri Paduka Pengiran Pemancha Sahibol Rae' Walmashuarah, Pengiran Muda Haji Mohamed 'Alam ibni Almarhum Pengiran Bendahara Pengiran Anak 'Abdul Rahman, DK, SPMB, DSNB, OBE, POAS, PHBS, PJK Controller of Telecommunications: Dato Seri Laila Jasa Awang C. E. B. Parrott, DSLJ, PANB, MBE Controller of Radio and Television: Awang Chief Information Officer: Yang Di- Director of Language and Literature Director of Fisheries: R. W. Beales District Officer, Belait: Awang Abdullah bin District Officer, Temburong: Awang Hamid bin Ismail (Acting) District Officer, Tutong: Awang Yahya bin Haji Harris, SMB Director of Economic Planning Unit: Awang Selamat bin Munap, SLJ British High Commissioner: J. A. Davidson, OBE D DOMINICA OMINICA lies in the Windward Islands group between the French islands of Guadeloupe, to the north, and Martinique, to the south, near to the intersection of the parallels 15° N. and 61° W. The island is 29 miles long and 16 miles wide, with an area of 289.8 square miles. It is roughly rectangular in shape with rounded projections at each end and is very mountainous, picturesque and well-watered. A central ridge with lateral spurs runs from Cape Melville in the north to terminate in cliffs in the extreme south, where is found the largest concentration of high land. Morne Diablotin (4,747 feet) in the north is the highest point. During the cool months of the year-December to March-the climate is particularly pleasant. The dry season lasts from about February to May; June to October are generally the wettest months and the period during which hurricanes occur. The annual temperature ranges from 78°F to 90°F in the hottest month -generally July. The rainfall is heavy, especially in the mountainous areas, where the average figure is 250 inches as compared with 70 inches along the coast. There are numerous rivers but none is navigable. The last census, taken in April 1970, gave the population as 70,302. Roseau, the capital, has a population of about 16,800. The population is composed of people of African descent, people of mixed descent, Europeans, Syrians and Caribs, the last three groups in small numbers. English, the official language, is very widely spoken and almost universally understood but a French patois persists as the medium of conversation among the masses. Religious adherence is predominantly Roman Catholic but the Church of England and the Methodist Church have also been long established. There are six Government hospitals including two cottage hospitals, a leper sanatorium and a mental hospital with a total of 340 beds. The main hospital, the Princess Margaret, in Roseau, includes a 40-bed wing for the care of patients suffering from chest conditions. Regular general medical care clinics are held throughout the year by district medical officers at 27 dispensaries, cottage hospitals and health centres distributed all over the island. A maternity, child hygiene and school health service, with headquarters in Roseau, is operated under the direction of the Chief Medical Officer. For the co-ordination of the District Health Services and improvement in Public Health Services a Medical Officer of Health and a Superintendent of Public Health Nurses have been appointed. Powdered skimmed milk donated by UNICEF as well as vitamins and other food supplements are distributed at maternity and school clinics. The most prevalent diseases on the island are gastro-enteritis, deficiency diseases, tuberculosis and helminthiasis. Agriculture is the principal occupation, but road and building construction, secondary industries, transport and commerce absorb a large number of the working population. The estimated labour force in 1970 was 29,173 of whom 12,986 were males and 16,187 females. Of these 12,325 males and 7,292 females were employed and the working population was estimated at 19,617. There are four registered trade unions. The main crops are bananas, limes, coconuts, grape-fruit, oranges, cocoa, vanilla, mangoes, avocado pears and various ground provisions for domestic use. The main products are raw and sweetened lime juice, lime oil, copra and rum. The livestock population as at the end of 1970 consisted of about 3,165 head of cattle, 7,007 pigs, 2,975 sheep, 5,089 goats, and 78,000 fowl. Forest resources in merchantable timber are considerable. According to a Canadian-sponsored survey carried out in 1962 there are over 470 million board feet of gommier, the dominant of three merchantable species. From this figure it can be said that all the trees are not in the cutting stage. Timber production has been affected by the closure of the Domcan Sawmill but efforts are being made to get the timber industry re-started. There is a Government-controlled fisheries scheme which in its present form provides, as one of its main features, interest loans to fishermen through a co-operative to purchase outboard motors and fishing boats. The only mineral so far found on the island is pumice, a light-weight concrete aggregate of volcanic origin used chiefly for building purposes. It is at present mined under licence by a group of American investors. The principal manufactures are cigarettes, cigars, handcrafts and canned citrus juices, some of each of which are exported. Also produced are quantities of edible oils, laundry and toilet soaps, coconut meal and crude oil. Other manufactures include pepper sauce, foam mattresses, ground coffee from roasted local coffee beans, and preserves. There were 35 registered Credit Unions at the end of 1974, with a membership of 14,200 and a share capital of $2,800,420*. There were also ten marketing and processing cooperatives (lime, grapefruit, oranges, sugar cane, vegetables, bay oil, poultry) with a membership of 1,020 and share capital of $31,659 and with a business turnover of over $1.5 million at the end of 1974. Roseau is the principal port but the banana boats of Geest Industries Ltd, the marketing company, call regularly at Portsmouth, the second town, to collect the bananas of the northern district. The Melville Hall Airport is situated in the north-east of the island approximately 34 miles from Roseau. Airmail, freight and passenger services are provided by the Leeward Islands Air Transport (LIAT) which operates a daily schedule between Antigua and Barbados by Avro 748 planes carrying 48 passengers. The following steamship services call at Dominica: the West Indies Shipping Service, Harrison Line, Saguenay Shipping Ltd, Compagnie Générale Transatlantique Ltd, Royal Netherlands Steamship Ltd, Geest Lines. Lamport and Holt Line Ltd, Grimaldi Siosa Lines, Booth American Shipping Corporation, and the Linea 'C' Line. In addition there are about 80 small sailing craft and seven West Indian-owned motor vessels, ranging between 23 tons and 130 tons, which connect Dominica with the other islands of the Eastern Caribbean. At the end of 1971 there were 231 miles of first-class bituminous roads, 163 miles of second class, and some 73 miles of unoiled roads and pedestrian tracks. There were 3,912 registered motor vehicles in 1974. The territory was allocated £2,719,120 ($13,051,776) to March 1959 under the Colonial Development & Welfare Acts 1945 and 1959. Under the 1963 and 1966 Acts, further allocations of £350,000 ($1,680,000), £300,919 ($1,444,411-20) and £1,026,000 ($4,924,800) were granted, making a total accumulated allocation from Colonial Development & Welfare Funds of £4,396,039 ($21,100,987-20). Total expenditure for 1973 (both recurrent and capital) is expected to be $26,878,870. British Development Aid in 1974 was $4,320,000. • East Caribbean $4.80= £1. The main heads of taxation are income tax and customs and excise duties. In the case of individuals income tax ranges from 4 cents for every dollar of the first $500 of chargeable personal income to 50 cents for every dollar over $10,000; companies are charged at the rate of 40 per cent on every dollar of chargeable income. Customs duties on goods imported into the territory are generally specific in regard to foodstuffs and ad valorem on other commodities. The rate of ad valorem duty varies between 5 per cent and 30 per cent preferential, and 8 per cent and 40 per cent general. Most ad valorem goods are chargeable at 20 per cent and 30 per cent preferential and general respectively. Export duty, at varying rates is payable on the principal agricultural products. Excise duty is payable on rum, cigarettes, cigars and tobacco. Other forms of taxation are estate duty and stamp duty. There is provision for double income tax relief in respect of Britain, Canada, the United States, Sweden, Denmark and Norway. The estimated revenue for 1973 was $16,204,030. In 1971 there were 57 elementary schools (one which replaces two smaller buildings at Grand Bay provides post-primary education) providing primary and post-primary education, with a total enrolment of 20,821 pupils, and five secondary (grammar) schools, three for boys and two for girls with a total enrolment of 1,847 pupils. Two of the secondary schools, one of which is co-educational, are wholly maintained by the Government. Primary education is free. Attendance is compulsory wherever adequate school facilities exist. So far 19 areas have been declared compulsory attendance areas. There are also 30 subsidised private infant schools for children of pre-school age. Secondary education is provided up to University-admission level. The secondary schools prepare pupils for the Cambridge G.C.E. examination, on the results of which an annual Government Scholarship is awarded. An increasing number of oppor tunities for higher education by way of scholarships, bursaries and training courses have been made available in recent years mainly by the United Kingdom, Canada and the University of the West Indies. There is one central free library in Roseau, with branches at Portsmouth, the second town, in the north of the island and Grand Bay in the south. The service has been extended to other rural districts by means of a Mobile Library Service. There are three commercial cinemas, the Carib and the Arawak in Roseau and the Arbedee in Portsmouth. A national radio station has been set up and has been operating since 1st November 1971. HISTORY Dominica was discovered by Columbus on Sunday (dies dominica) 3rd November 1493. It was then a stronghold of the Caribs, who had arrived in the Antilles from the mainland of South America and were in the course of driving out the less warlike Arawaks. The Spanish made no attempt to establish settlements on the island either then or later, probably because of the strength of the Caribs and the forbidding terrain. English associations with Dominica did not begin until 1627, when it was included in a grant of sundry islands in the Caribbean made to the Earl of Carlisle; several attempts to take possession, however, proved abortive. Under the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, 1748, Great Britain and France agreed to treat the island as neutral ground and to leave it to the Caribs. Nevertheless, |