vision can be received from Antigua (Leeward Islands Television Service) and St Kitts (ZIZ). Montserrat Electricity Services Ltd (a company jointly owned by CDC and the Montserrat Government) provides island-wide electricity on 11kV network using diesel-powered generators. In all but unusually dry areas there is a plentiful water supply under the management of an independent Water Authority. The Canadian Government is at present improving the system of pipelines and providing new storage reservoirs. Blackburne Airport, jointly provided by Britain and Canada, has one of the most modern air traffic control systems in the Caribbean and a reasonable air terminal building. Navigational aids for restricted night-flying are at present being installed. Many new buildings and excellent roads testify to the considerable development aid provided by the British Government through the British Development Division in the Caribbean, and the Canadian Government. Major projects in the planning stage include a new hospital; the first stage of improved harbour facilities, including a lengthened jetty; three new schools; more roads and major redevelopment of Plymouth. The maximum income tax rate is still 20 per cent both for corporations and individuals. A new valuation list of all properties on the island has been established for the tax year 1973 and is expected to be in operation for 5 years without major adjustments. The present rate of property taxation is 1 per cent of the market value of the unimproved site where such a value does not exceed $2,500 and for every E.C. dollar in excess of this figure a further rate of 2 per cent of the excess is levied. The gross revenue and expenditure figures for 1973 were: There are fourteen Government schools. Five schools are for pupils of all ages, and in addition there are six primary, one infant, one junior secondary, one senior secondary two grant aided primary and two private primary schools. The total enrolment of pupils is 3,139. In addition ten nursery schools owned by a voluntary organisation, but nearly totally supported by Government, cater for over 300 pre-schoolers. Education, compulsory to the age of fourteen, is free at all Government schools, except at senior secondary level, where a nominal fee of $45.00 per annum is charged. The Technical College (fee paying) provides vocational and technical education to craft-level for school leavers. There is a public library with 3,500 registered members, 2,000 of whom are juveniles. The Government contributes towards 22 Regional Organisations including: Carifta and the Regional Secretariat, Commonwealth Caribbean Caribbean Governments Carifta and the Regional Secretariat, Commonwealth Caribbean Governments Regional Meteorological Service Eastern Caribbean Common Market. HISTORY Montserrat was discovered in November 1493 by Christopher Columbus, on his second voyage to the New World. The serrated profile of the island reminded him of the locale of the Abbey of Montserrat in the Spanish highlands near Barcelona. Thus the island was named, but never colonised, by Spain. In 1632 Sir Thomas Warner sent a group of English and Irish from overcrowded St Christopher to settle on Montserrat. Further Irish immigrants arrived during the century from Virginia, driven out because of their religion. They grew tobacco, and indigo, then came cotton and later sugar. Through the years the planters were much harassed by French and Carib Indian raids. The island was stormed and taken by the French in 1664, and again in 1667, but was restored to England in 1668 by the Peace of Breda. In 1671 the Leeward Islands were separated from Barbados and put under the rule of a CaptainGeneral and Commander-in-Chief. In 1678 Sir William Stapleton, Captain-General and Commander-in-Chief of the Leeward Islands, recorded the population of Montserrat as: The first slaves from Africa arrived in Montserrat in 1644; and reached as many as 9,500 in 1805, at which time the European population had dropped to 1,000. The French under Cassard with 3,000 men raided Montserrat in 1712. They burned and pillaged to the extent of £203,500 damage, for which a special clause was inserted into the Treaty of Utrecht. The last capture of Montserrat by the French was in 1782, when de Bouillé took most of the Leewards, but it was restored to England in 1783 by the Treaty of Versailles. During the Napoleonic Wars a French fleet under La Grange attacked the Leewards in 1805 and demanded ransom, of which Montserrat paid £7,500. On 1st August 1834 slavery was abolished. The planters of Montserrat were paid compensation of £103,556 for 6,401 slaves. Added to the cessation of slavery and the apprentice system, the falling price of sugar in the late 19th century did much to discourage planters, who found it very difficult to run estates profitably; the rugged topography and a shortage of capital made it equally difficult to modernise estate agriculture. Between 1890 and 1936 Montserrat's economy had, in addition, to sustain a series of devastating earthquakes and hurricanes. All these factors combined to cause the demise of estate agriculture. In 1857 Joseph Sturge, of Birmingham, England, formed the progenitor of the Montserrat Company Ltd., which bought abandoned estates, planted limes and made Montserrat lime juice famous. This company did much to upgrade the prosperity of the islands. They sold plots of land to the peasants, in the conviction that a settled people makes the soundest community. Much of Montserrat today is owned by small holders. In the 1870s the company also endowed and operated a school for the children of workers, which lasted until 1932. Education had become compulsory in 1892, but not until 1944 did the Government become wholly responsible for primary education, which previously had been provided by church and private schools with the aid of grants from the National Society in England. The Anglican Church was disestablished in January 1875, and received no more financial aid from the Government. The three main sects were, and still are, Anglican, Roman Catholic and Methodist. The Leeward Islands Act of 1871 inaugurated the Federal Colony of the Leeward Islands, including the Presidencies of the British Virgin Islands, St Christopher, Nevis and Anguilla, Antigua, Montserrat and Dominica. Each Presidency was headed by a Commissioner or Administrator who was responsible to the Governor of the Federal Colony of the Leeward Islands. The Federation of the Leeward Islands was abolished on the 1st July 1958 when Montserrat became a Colony in its own right and from 1960 until 1971 an Administrator was the Queen's Representative in Montserrat. When the Federation of the Leeward Islands was created on 3rd January 1958 all the British West Indian territories entered as separate units, Montserrat being one. Unfortunately, the Federation had but a short life and broke up with the secession of Jamaica in 1962. Since then Montserrat has been separately administered. On the 3rd November 1971 H.M. The Queen approved the appointment of a Governor to replace the Administrator. Since 1963 real estate development and tourism have done much to aid the island's economy. Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II visited the territory in February 1966, the first reigning monarch to do so. CONSTITUTION A new constitution came into force on 1st January 1960. It provides for execution of government through the Governor who is appointed by Her Majesty The Queen, an Executive Council and a Legislative Council. The Executive Council has the general control and direction of the government of the Territory. It is presided over by the Governor and there are two ex-officio members, the principal law officer (Attorney-General) and the Financial Secretary, and four unofficial members (the Chief Minister, and three other Ministers). The Governor appoints as Chief Minister the member of the Legislative Council who, in his judgement, is nost likely to command a majority in the Legislative Council. The other unofficial members of the Executive Council are appointed by the Governor on the advice of the Chief Minister. Ministers may be assigned responsibility for any Government business (including financial matters) except internal security, the audit of public accounts and the public service. The Legislative Council is presided over by the Governor and comprises, besides the Governor, two official members, seven elected members and one -nominated unofficial member. There is a Deputy President elected from within the Council. Elections are by universal adult suffrage. The appointment, dismissal and disciplinary control of public officers is -vested in the Governor in his discretion, acting after consultation with the Public Service Commission. LAND POLICY It is obligatory for all non-Montserratians to obtain a licence from the Government before they obtain any interest in land in the Colony. The Government is not prepared to alienate good agricultural land for real estate development. GOVERNMENT At the general election held on 20th September 1973 the Progressive Democratic Party won five of the seven seats in the Legislature, the other two being won by Independents. GOVERNOR His Excellency Mr N. D. Matthews, OBE EXECUTIVE COUNCIL His Excellency the Governor (Chairman) Chief Minister and Minister of Finance: Hon. P. A. Bramble, JP LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL President, His Excellency the Governor Other Members with Districts Hon. P. A. Bramble, JP (Plymouth_District) Joseph (Windward District); Hon. W. N. Ryan (Eastern District); J. J. Weekes (Northern District). CIVIL ESTABLISHMENT Governor: N. D. Matthews, OBE Permanent Secretary (Manpower and Administration): G. R. E. Cabey T PITCAIRN ISLANDS GROUP [HE small, volcanic island of Pitcairn (1·75 square miles) is situated in the Pacific Ocean (25° 04′ S.; 130° 06′ W.) roughly mid-way between Panama and New Zealand and 1,350 miles east-south-east of Tahiti. It is a rugged island rising to 1,100 feet and even at Bounty Bay, the only landing-place, access from the sea is difficult. The climate is equable. Mean monthly temperatures vary from 19°C (66°F) in August to 24°C (75°F) in February; the average annual rainfall is 80 inches, fairly evenly spread throughout the year. Moderate easterly winds predominate with short east to south-east gales occurring between April and September. The early history of Pitcairn is uncertain but archaeological remains prove it was inhabited by Polynesians some six hundred years ago, at least for short periods. Modern history began with its discovery by Carteret in 1767, and its occupation by Fletcher Christian and nine of the Bounty mutineers, accompanied by twelve Tahitian women and six men, in 1790. Although an American vessel called at the island in 1808 it was not until the visit of H.M.S. Briton and H.M.S. Tagus in 1814 that the story of the Pitcairn settlement became widely known. The first decade had been marked by jealousies and violence and by 1800 the only adult male survivor was John Adams, who guided and led the small |