Source document: https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1698076371978.pdf (Guyana)
1479 1480 LEGISLATIVE �DUNCIL Nominated --1 l\fr .. T. Lee .

linofficials :• (Constituted (Constitution) imder the British (Temporary Guiana> Provisions) ' '!

l\ir.

E. F. Correia I.

Order in Councu, 1953).

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY, 9TH 1957 Rev.

D. C. J. Bobb Mr. H. Rahaman Miss Gertie H. Collins The Council met at 2 p.m, '.\Irs.

Esther E. Dey PRESENT: Clerlc of th� Legislature­ l\'lr.

I. Crum Ewing.
I. Crum Ewing.

Assistant C[erlc of the Legislature­ His Honour the Speaker Sir Eustace Gordon Woolforcl, Mr. B. M. Viapree (Ag.)

O.B.E., Q.C.

Bx-Officio Members : Absent: Mr. J. I. Ramphal-on leave.

The Hon.

the Chief Secretary, Mr. F. D. Jak�way, C.M.G., O.B.E.

Mr. W. A. Phaug -on leave.

l\ir.

L. A. Luckhoo, Q.C.

'!

'he Hon.

the Attorney .Mr.

G. M. Farnum (Ag.)

General, Mr. C. A. Carter-on leave.

The Hon.

the Financial Mr. F. W. Essex.


Secretary, Dr. H. A. Fraser-on leave, Nominated Members of Executive Council : The Hon.

Sir Frank McDavid, C.B.E.

(i\'11)111ber for Agricul­ C.M.G., ture, Forests, Lands and Mines).

Mr. R. B. Jailal - on leave.

Mr. Sugrim Singh Mr. W. T. Lord, I.S.0.-011 leave.

The Speaker read prayers.

The Hon.

P. A. Cummings (?\!em­ ber for Labour, Health and Housing;• The Hon.

W. 0.

R. Kendall (Mem• ber for Communications and Works).
The Minutes of the meeting of the heid on Friday, 21st Decem­ Council ber, 1956, as printed were taken as read and confirmed.

and circulated, The Hon.

G. A .

C. Farnum, 0.Il.

:tt f Member for Local Government, Social Welfare and Co-operative ment).

Develop­ ANNOUNCEMENTS LEA VE TO MEMBERS The Hon.

R. B. Gajraj The Hon.

R. C. Tello Mr. Speaker: I regret to have to of so many Mem- announce the �bsence l t181 AJUlOllllCC111Cnts 9TH J.ANUARY, 1957.

Government Notices 1482 I.Mr.

Speaker] bern.


Mr. Ramphal has asked f or and h as been given leave from 4th to 15th ,lanuary.

1\h.

Phang unfoi-lunalely is ill in ho:;pit.al a ml has applied fo; Jea\'c from bl .Jan.uary to 3 1st March.

D L'.

Fraser and i\fr.

Jailal have :1sked i.<.> be excused from today's meeting; :wd Mr. Lorri from 8th to 16th ,Tan uar y.

11.'lr.

Carler ·whu usual]~· does 11 ot, get ill i,; imlispused an <l wants a week t 0 reco,·er.

J\1r.
J\1r.

Lee: thereforc ilay I that vacancies should be fil led by His Excellenc:y '/ ::;ay :Mr. Speake;-: Please, that is not .> proper inte:r\'ention at this stage.

i.\lr.

Lee: I beg your pardon.

Mr.

Spt:'ak.

;r: It i,; not a questi on of begging m;-.'

vanlon, it iH most ine lcvant.

:Mr. Cummings (Membe r for La lroul' , Health .,ncl Housing): I did n ot h ear the word., that fell from your lips just now, but I take it yo u were speak ing of the a )Ji-;cnce of Members, and I mer ely want lo :say .
Sir- Mr. 8p!>aher: 1 mentioned absent Tvfombcr~, not including :vou.

sh: M c lengthy today.

\Ve had a very Cummings : Executive Council meeting GREETING'.~ I have l\Ir.

Speaker: received from abroad and from Mr. Macnie Ch r istmas ancl New Year greetings ;\nd good wishes to this Cou n cil.

PAP8R8 LAID s ex) : The Financial Secret ar:v (M1·.

Es I beg to 1ay on the table: Schedules of Supplementary Estimates for !he months of November and Decem- her, 1956.
Schedules of Supplementary Estimates (Development) for the months of November and D ecember, 1956.

Mr. l{endall munications nnd Works) : lay on t he table : (Member for Com I beg to The Official Inland Correspondence (Amendment) Regulat ions, 1956.

Report on the Georgetown-Rosignol Road by Messrs. Scott & Wilson, Kirk patrick and Partners, Consulting En gineers- Sessional Paper No.

11/ 1956.
11/ 1956.

E-ritish C:uiana Airways (Government) -Proposed Two- Year Mariagement Agree ment with British West Indian Airways Limited-Sessional Paper No.

13/ 1956.

GOVERNMENT NOTICES INCREASED FEES FOR RURM, C ONSTABLE'.

;; The Chief Secretary (Mr .


.Jake I beg to give notice of the way) : moti on s ta nding in my name on the Order Paper; as follows : ''Wh ereas the fees and allowances pay able to rural constables laid down in the third schedule to tlle Police Ordinance (Chapter 77) were fixed in accordance w ith the provisions of section 122 of the aforesaid Ordinance by Resolution No.
XXI dated the 11th of November, 1949; and Wher eas items 6 and 8 (ci) of the scheJ ulc aforesaid were amended by Resolu t ion No .. IX dated the 1st of April, 1'954; and Whereas i t is considered that rural con stGbles, who perform polic~ duties in ac cordance with i tem 6 of the schedule , should receive remuneration not less t han that which is paid to government watch men; and Whereas it is also considered that the re striction contained in i tem 8 (d) of the 5"hedule in relation to the fees payable to rural constabies where two or more ser vices are performed on the same day should be removed in order to provide incentive for their performance of more i;ervices particularly in connexion with the execution of commitment w?.rran !s; and Wher eas it is further considered desir able that a separate fee for attendance at court and for other services mentioneci 1483 Governnient Notices 9TH JANUARY, 1957.
Audit Dept.
Biil 1484 in items 1, 2 and 3 of the schedule should be p rescribed, and that items 5 and 7 of t he schedule should be abolished as they are no longer required; and Whereas it is provided by section 122 of the aforesaid Ordinance that the rates specified in the abovementioned :;checlulc may be varied b y resoluticn of the Gov ernor and Lf'gislative Council from time to time: Be it resolved: That tihis Council in terms of section 122 of the Police Ordinance, Chapter 77, approves of the follow ing be ing substituted for the third schedule in the said.
Ordinance:- •·' of the case or the completion 0£ •the service.

The account shall be made out •.b y the police.

(b) In ;my case under item 2 the Commissioner of Police may, on the recommendation of the Magis trate, award special renwneration not exceeding $5.

(c) Where any constable receives any monthly pay or salary from public revenues, he sh all not be en titled to anv fees or allowances uncle£ this Ordinance, unless the Chief Secretary expressly authorises the payment."
Tables of Fees ancl Allowances Payable to Rural Constables Sup1J1ementary Estimates.

$ c. 1.

For execution of a warrant of commi';ment ............... 1.50 2.

For making any arrest where a warrant o-£ apprehension has been issued.

or for making any arrest where a warrant has not b een issued if ihe Magistrate considers the rtr- r est was prope1·ly made ................. 2.00 3.
For preparing a summons if the summons has been initialled by an Officer of Rural Con stabulary or the County Sergeant-Major of Rural Conslab Hlary ............. .......... .

............. 1.50 4.

For attendance at Court.

........................... 2.50 5.

F or executing in the prescribed manner any warrant of dis tress or levy or warrant of ejectment, or other process issued by a magistrate .... .2.00 6.
For performance of police duties when required to assist the police for the first eight hours or part thereof and 56c per hour for each hour over eigM ................................ .

................ 3.00 7.

Travelling allowance to a con stable when engaged in the execution of his duty, on the time being scale for the fanctioned for the police force.

8.
8.

( a) The allowance specified in item 7 shall be in the discretion 0f the m agistrate, and sh all be paid by the m agistrate at the conclusion The Financial Secretary: I beg t 0 gi vc notice of the fo llowing motions: "Be it resol ved: That this Council ap proves of the Suppleme1,tary Estimates fo r the months of November and De ccm?

:ier, 1956, t otalling $1,377,931.67, which have been laid on the table."
''Ee it resolved: That this Council ap proves of the Supplementary Estimates (Developmen t) for the months of Novem her totailing $956,178.SG, which have been laid on the table.''

and December , 1-9-56, Agreement with B.W.I.A.

M.r.
M.r.

l{endall: I beg to give notice of the fo llowing motion : "Be it resolved : That w ith reference t o Sessional Paper No 13i1956 this Council approves of the conclusion of the pro posed Two-Year Management Agreemen t with British West Indian Airways, Ltd." ORDER OF THE DAY Audit Department (Amendment No.

2) Bill The Financial Secretary : I beg to move the second reading of the B ill intituled: "An Ordinance further to annncl th e Audit Dcpnrtment 01·dinance."

This is a very simple Bill.


U11der the existing Ordinance this Colony 1485 Aildit Dept.

9TH JANUARY, 1957.
9TH JANUARY, 1957.

( A mendtnient) B ill 1486 to contribute £ 500 [F i nancial Secretary] is authorized ~ year towards the cost of the Office of the Director General of the Over sea Audit Depa rtmen t, and this is :=,aid to be our sh a re of the cost in the ratio of the Revenue a nd Expendit un, of British Guia na to the total Rev cm1e and Expend iture of a ll the terri tories whose accounts are audited by the Director General.
The Secreta ry of State has now pointed out that t he Revenue of some territories has out· stripped that of certain others, and as a result the cost worked out on the old basis is unfa ir, for in the case of ma ny territories, the work which has to be don e for them costs much moTe tha n t h eir share based only on relat ive Revenues and Expenditures.

therefore been worked out for all the territories nr.
der which the comparative Revenue is only one f act or t aken into account to determine sha re of cost.

Other fac tors such a s the amount of work in volved ha ve b ee n considered.

Under t his new formula , British Guia na's share is t:1,000, and the Bill seeks to authorize thi.~.

a nd t o remove the for mer gloss th at t his was a proportion ate figure based on British Gu iana's Revenue and Expenditure.

· (Mr. Farnum, actin g) : I beg to second the motion.
The Attor ney Gene ral formu la has A Mr. Speaker: Wou ld any Member like to speak on the second read ing?

Ques ti on p ut, and agreed to.

COUNCE, IN COMMITTEE Council re1,o ]ved itself into Com mittee to com,icle r the Bill clause by clause.

Clai1se 1.-8 hort t-itle.

The Financial Secretary: I beg to move that this clause be amended by the delet ion of the abbreviation and the numeral "No.
2" in the bracket in the second line, and (a) (b) su bstitution of the the numeral:, ' '1957" for t he numerals " 1956", also in the second line.

The Chairman: Does a nyone wish to speak on the amendments?

~uestion put, a nd agreed to.

Clause I passed as amended.

Cla use 2 and title a nd enacting clau1Se passed as printed.

Council res umed.

The Financial Secretary : The Bill having been passed in Committee w ith two small a mendments, I beg to move that it be now read a third time and pass ed.
The Attorney General : I beg to second t he motion.

Question put, a nd agreed t o.

Bill read a third t ime and passed.

VOLUNTEER (AMENDMENT ) BILL The Chief Secretary : to move the second reading of the Bill i.ntituled : I beg "An Ordinance t o amend the Volunteer Ordinance."

it comes This is j ust a formal Bill ans m i:; from the fact that a n ew Army Act has been passed by the United King dom Parliament and into operation from 1st January, this year.
Ou r Volunteer Ordin ance refer;; to s eve ral provisions in the Army Act and the object of thi,s Bill is to readjust the numbering so that t his Ordinanc e will ref.er to the new Army Act a n<l not the old one.

The Attorney General : I beg to second t h e motion.

Question put, and agreed to.

Bill read a second t ime.

l487 Representa.tion of 9TH JANUARY, 19-57. , the People ( Arnclt.)

B-ill 1488 Counci.l resolved itself into Com­ the Bill clause by mittee to consider clause.

Clause 1.-Short titlie.


The Chief Secretary : I beg to move that this clause be amended by the substitution for the numerals line.

of the numerals "1956" in the secou<l ''1957" Question put, and agreed to.

Clause 1 passed as amended.

Clauses 2 and 3 and the title and enacting clause passed as printed.

that careful It is unfortunate Members are absent today, as Bill which consideration.
I have of the Chief Sei:­ of which I pro­ Mr. Lee : I have always felt that we should have a fuller Council at all times when matters such as this are being debated.

several this is a very important requi;res drawn the attention retary to two clauses pose to move amendments do so at the appropriate not know if other Members have studied can only speak on behalf of myself.

I feel certain, however, bern would like to make some points on.
the amendments, would be w.iser for us to have a fuller representation they do so.

and I ,vii!

time.

I do the Bill but I have done so and in the Council when but I think it th�1t other :Mem­ Council resumed.

The Chief Secretary : I beg to a Bill intituled, report from Committee an Ordinance Ordinance, to move that i,t be now read a third time and passed.
with one amendment, to amend the Volunteer and are go­ : I am 110t will be in the Committee The Chief Secretary sure how long these l\i[ernbers ing to be absent, Sir.

This is a Bill, it seems to me, on which the most of the discussion stage rather tnan on the second read­ ing.

If there is any discussion it would be on individnal clauses, we might have the second reading and if the Council Committee i:s the principle deal with today, not the individufd clauses.

wishes to move into we can do so.


It of the Bill that we ·will tomorrow tod,:.y I think Mr. Speaker : Does the hon.

who h8.d risen Member (Mr. Correia) wish to say something?

The Attorney second the motion.

General : I beg to Question put, and agreed to.

Bill read a third time and passed.


REPRESENTATION OF 'fHJ,� PEOPLE BILL Item 3 - Motion by the Chief Sec­ retary for the second reading of the Bi,11 intituled : "An Ordinance to make provision of Members of the Legislative for the election Council and for purposes therewith ."

connected Mr. Speaker : I do not know whether it is possible to conclude the debate on this Bill today.
I should like to know whether it is their wi,sh that after the Chief Secretary this Bill the debate bn it should be allowed to proeeed be adjourned.

or ·whether it should moves l\lr.

Correia: Yes, Sir.

I wanted to reply to the Chief Seeretary.

This is a very important Bill and I would like to speak on it.

It wag mr intention to ask the Chief Secretary motion until more Members are able to attend and speak on it.

I repeat that this is a very important that it be deferred given.

for the rea.
for the rea.

"on Bill and I ask to defer the 1489 Representation of 9TH JANUARY, 19,57. the People ( Amdt.)

Bill 1490 Mr. Speaker : Mr. Lee will be absent for six weeks, but Mr. Carter for only a week.

'fhe Chief Secretary : I really think that would be carrying deference to h on.

Members too far.

I thought we would have deferred the motion until idea of tomorrow, but deferring it until next week.
I shall be absent for a week as from Friday next, so any deferment beyond to morrow would .have to be for a fort night.

I had no Rev.

Mr. Bobb: There is no doubt that, as Mr. Correia has said, this Bill is causing a lot of public discussion.

While I consider that the Chief Secre tary would be anxious to go ahead with it, I agree that it would be in the interest of the Council to hear what the Unofficial Members think about it.
At the present moment we are just too few on this side of the Council and I shall be sorry if we could not defer it for even a week when there will be a better attendance.

I do not think it would be wise for us to proceed, with the Council as it is today.

Mr. ,Speaker: like to hear what the hon.

Member, Mr. Tello, thinks.

I should Mr. Speat1.er: I think myself that there is some reason in what the Chief Secretary has said.

I do not say that if we go the Bill into Committee s hould be left there.
The Chief Secretary: Perhaps we can start the second reading and then adjourn, Sir.

Mr. Speaker: Yes; the hon.

Mem ber can speak on the Bill.

The Chief Secretary: I would certainly like to commence the depate, Sir.

· For Mr. Speaker: Personally, I can see no harm in your doing so.

I think Members are aware of what the amendments would be; some of them, I think, call for substantial altera tions.

they do not instance, know what would be the date of the elections.
This does not say whether they will be held in January or later.

It looks as if there will be no elections to be this year.

made public and the elector ate i s entitled to know what is happening when the elections will take place.

The elections should be held as early as possible.

The date has Mr. Tello: I think that the prin ciple of the Bill will be supported, but nearly all the Members of the Council are absent.
I think the Chief Secre tary has gone as far as he can go by offering to leave the Bill in Committee in order to ensure the attendance of certain Members who seem to have the interest of the Bill at h eart.

~-./ Mr. Lee: With all due respect to the last speaker.

I under~tood that we would have been allowed to comment on the Bill and not that it would be left in the Committee stage.
Ti1e Chief Secretary: I rise, Sir, to move t he second reading of the Bill intitulecl : ''An Ordinance to make provision for the election of Members of the Legislative for purposes connecte,!

Council therewith."

and This is another essential step in cur progress towards a return to a representative form of Government.

First came the revision of the electoral rnll which has now been completed.

Secondly came the amendments to the Constitutional Order in Council which are now law.
The constituencies have also been proclaimed by the Governor.

1491 Representation of 9TH JANUARY, 1957. the People ( Amrlt.)

Bill 1492 the Representation of the and now People Bill is the next - and indeed the las t stage before the fixing- of the date for elections.

This Bill makes pro vision for the holding of the elections and prescribes how these electio11s should be conducted.
It is a lo11g Bill - a detailed• one, - but the greater part of it is recapitula tion of existing legislation enshrined in the Peopl,~ the Representation of Ordinance of 1953, and the Legislative Council Elections Ordinance of 1945.

For convenience, all the provisions for holding elections are now consolidated There have, into one Ordinance.

however, been some changes ·and I think I should, at this stage, poi.nt out tlw principal ones.
First of all, to conduct the elections, there is, in addition to the Chief E lectoral Officer, a Commissi.oner of Elections provided by clause 3.

T h~ Commissioner of Elections t o exercise general direction and super the conduct of elec v1s1on over tions and to enforce on the pa ri; of election offic.ers impartiality in enforce ing of the provisions of this Ordin ance, and he wou ld issue such instruc tions to election officers for the condu ct of election as would be necessary.
The detailed management of the election would remain w ith the Chief Electoral the Commissioner would Offi.cer but have over-all supervision and r esponsi- bility, and be a sort of referee t o whom the Chief Electoral Officer might rerer in case of any diffi culty or dispute.

has Another change - and perhaps the one which is likely to attract the gTeat est interest - is that the 1953 method of voting h a,3 not been followed.
T he 1953 method, as Members no doubt r e member, consisted of putting the voting paper into a box on which there was a s ymbol.

There was one box t o Each candidate and it was done behind a screen.

That method was des igned to facilitate voting by illiterates.

It w::is severely criticised br the Rober\son Commission who said they had heard grave doubts expressed befor e them about the secrec~· of the ballot by thi:', method of voting.
The Roberts0.n Commi,;sion thought th,it the arrange ments were unnecessarily elaborate to facilitate voting b~• illi terates a nd they had this to say in paragraph 81 of their report which, with yo ur permission, I wi]] quote: "We are of ihe opu1ton, however, that the elaborate a n angements which were made to facilitate votin!!

hy illiterates a re unnecessary; certainly we see no reason why the secrecy and reliability of the en tire ballot should be ieopardised on their account.
I n British Guiana it would be wrong to assume that illiteracy is gen erally associated with less than average intelligence.

It does nol ~eem to us un reasonable, therefore.

to expect an illit erate voter to be ab le with a little effort a nd perhaps coaching, lo recognise the printed name of the candidate for whom he w ishes to vote i:nd to mark a cross against it."
in Government h,is taken heed of that r ec.ommendation, a11d in this, Bill which it has is fair eno11gh, and brothers and sister.s :1J11ongst the other British territories lhe Car ibbean.

1n fact we are ado.pting the method gener ally in 11se in the f'aribbean.

i11- cl ucling 1:ritish liondnras which has a very similar element of illiteracy in its populalioll to om·s-indced rather n hi gher one.
We con;;iderecl 1·ery care fully whether this method of Yoting would operate to the clisaclrnntage of illiter ates.

·ffe i.hink not, partic11larly i f certain proyisions in the J:ill are r e merubered.

Fi1·ft of all the1·c i,, dause -i:!

('.l) which ,p,r.ol'ides that a ballot paper.

even if it is marked in a ,my which does uot conform strictly with 1.he re, 1uirements of the law, will br ::ic,·eptecl by the presiding officer, J)ro•:iclccl it clearly rn shows the intention of the rnt~r.
other words, the voter may put a cross -:, ~ = I.,, RepresenttCJ,tion of [The Chief Secretary] ..-se,:;J!t,1~ .

- ;+I .

- p * ~ US'.i<;" .

;s:.

::.1-~ 9TH JANUARY, 1957. the People ( Amdt.)

Bill 1494 not in the 0i1Jen space but perhaps over the name of a candidate, or else,where, or he may not put a cross but put a t ick, or ,some other form of identification; that w,ould not be a reason for refusing to accept the vote, ll)il:ovided it is quite clear what the voter 's intention was.
That is an important provision in the absence of any particula.r arrangements for illiterates.

I will read clause 42 (3) : "42.


(3) A ballot paper on which the vote is marked - (a) elsewhere than proper pla\:e; or in the (b) otherwise than by means of a cross; or (c) by more than one mark, shall not by reason thereof be rejected if an intention that the vote shall be for one or other of clearly appears, and the way the paper is marked does not of itself identify the elector and it is not shown that 1he can be identified thereby."
candidates the That, I may ,s;ay, is not our own irnrention ; it follows the, United King dom Ilules for Elections.

I ndeed, there is nothing new in this Bill.

It i.s all taken from respectable sources.

Clause 34 (2) , to which I also wish to refer , permits a presiding officer to instruct an elector - in fact requires him to instruct an elector how to mark his ballot pail),er, noit where, of course, but how.

He is required to show the vo ter the way in which the law requires him tto cast his vote.
I t hink this fol lows the British Honduras proV'ision.

Thirdly, as an aid to illiterates, provision has been retained for the al locrution of isymbols to candidates, and the symbol as well as the candidate's name and his number in alphabetical order will appear on the ballot paper.
I s hould say here, however, that the me t hod of allocating the symbols will be p,rescriibed in Regulations to be made unde.-r the Ordinance, but it i,s, the in- tention that the symbols will not be a llo cated to parties but .to individual candi dates.

This, I have n o doubt, will be criticized in some qua11ters as an at tempt to weaken the party syst em.

It is nothing of the sort.

It is the proce dure in force in Jamaica and in Trini I do not think anyone would say dad.
that the 1P,arty system was not healthy and vigorous in Jamaica, and I do not think anybody would say that of Trini dad either.

It has certainly not opera the development of a ted agains,t healthy and vigorous party sy,s-tem to have symbols allocated to candidat es In fact the rather than to parties.

to as.s,ist the is purpose of s ymbols illiterate voter to identify the candi- date for whom he w ishes to vote.

S.ym bols are not intended to be attached to party labels.
So it is clea1· t hat the proper way to use 1&ymbols is to alLot them to candidates, and the procedure will be ,that at the t ime of nomination they will ea,c.h have a symbol alloted to them by means of ballot.

No symbols are used in t he United Kingdom, and generally rthey are d is carded when there is no a.p,preciable de grc.e of illiteracy in the population.
'.l'he 11obertson Corumis:s,ion recommended that ,they should be discarded here as soon as poss•i,ble, and it did r efer in paragra,ph S1 of its Report to what it called "the tendency, noticeable in the last election, for voters to pay more heed to party symbol than to the merits of the individual candidates.''

The allotment of symbo.Js to can didates r ather than to parties will, it th at i,s danger.
consider ed, gua rd against The method of voting adopted, as I have said, is the one in force in the United Kingdom, and it is the one r e• comme11ded by the Rober tlSon Commis- 1495 R epresen ta-tion of 9TH J ANUARY, 1957 .

the People (Am<l,t.)

Bin 1496 s ion.

In order tha t i\fembers may un derstand just how it will operaite I w ill read the last s,entence of paragraph S1 of the R eport, beca use it show s ver y clearly just what this met hod of voting is: It says.
: w it h him a friend who, on taking a suitable oath, may mark the ballot pa per on his behalf or , if he so wish es he may ask the pr esiding officer to ma r k the paper for him.

"We have therefore no hesitat ion in suggesting that the system u sed in the last election should be discarded, and that in stead voting should be carried out on broadly the same lines as in th e United Kingdom.
That is t o say, a voter, h aving received his ballot paper printed with t he names of the candidates for the con to a screened stituency, should retire booth, there mark a ci'oss in pencil on the paper against the name of the can didate of his choice and t he presence of the presiding officer, cleposi~ it in a single ballot box."
then, in That is the method which in t his Bill it is proposed to, adopt, save t hat in addition to the n a me of t h e can didate on the ba llot pa per ther e will als o be his symbol a nd his number.

In the Bili the normal time to be allowed be1Jween -nomination day a nd polling day (where that is r equired) is 25 days.

A period at least as lon g as that is required if the candida tes, h a.T ing been allotted t heir symbols, a r e to be given reasonable time to canvass t heir constituencies.
It is thou ght t hat in some places tha t period ma y not even be long enough, particula rly in 1some pa rts of the "interior, and t h er e is provis ion in the Bill for the time to be extended to a t h at be necessary.

B ut tha t w ill not mean that polling will take p:Vace on dif ferent days ; polling w ill be so arranged to take p lace on the .same d ay wh ere polling in Bome is necessary, but cases nomination day may be brough t forward a rrit t o s uit t h e con venience of the partic ula r a r ea.
We h a ve in mind the Rupununi district.

longer period, sh ould There are t wo w ays in which a blind or phys ically incapacitated voter may cast his vote.

H e may ei.ther tak e simply what ·wheth er or not l do 11ot th ink .at t his stage, on the second r eadirig, it ·is n ocessary f.or n:ie to go through this long Bill dause by clause.

It is not a Bill in which the question of ther e should be s'lllch a law is; a mat ter of is controversy.

It is within the B ill which may be a mat ter for discussion.
It is a long Bill bnt most of it is merely r ecap;itulation of ex i/Sti11g law, and I think' I h ave in poi!1'ted out t h e particular places which we have departed the from existing t h e Commit t ee is reached l\'Lembers may well s.tage individual clauses on have QJOiJ11ts on which they would like enlightenment, and when that stage is reac.hed I will do m y best to expla in t he mea ning a n d intention behind those clat1ses.

I for mally beg to move that the Bill be read a second time.

law.
law.

When The Attorney General : I beg to second the motion.

Mr. Lee: If you a r e adjourning fo r a bsent :M:embers to be enabled t o speak on this mu, it is best fo r yo11 t o ad journ now, if no,t I would have to give my quota n ow as I h aye studied t he Bill.

But I wo uld like all of us to speak at the same ,time, s,o that if several Members cover the ground.

I have in mind I need not reiter ate them.

Mr. Speaker: The Hon.

Member wishes to s,peak late in the debate.


Ile is often late and I would suggest to h im to make his contribution now.

Mr. Lee : I will proceed.

There are a few t h ings in this Bill which, in my opinion, do not comply with t he general pr in cip,le of the constitutiona l ¥"""' ~ -=~-...,,.-~....,......,.,...._.__..:,;..._.._..

~ 1497 Representation of 9TH JANUARY, 1957. the P eople ( Amdt.)

Bill 1498 right of the secrecy of the ballot.


Af• ter all, if we acc.ept the principle of adult s uffrage, we must ·also a,::cept the principle of the s,:,cret ba Uot.

The method adopted in this bill, will not meet the case wholly.

1 will t ell you what happened at the last General Elections so ,that you will see that if Government is amending the law it should be done in such a manner as to carry out these two principles- adult suffrage and secrecy of the ballot.
On that occasion there was a ballot box for each candidate and on that ballot box was placed rthe name and syn1bol of the candidate.

1 know as a fact that certain political parties over came any difficulties in t h at metl1,1d by telling the illiterates · :s.npporiting thelll that if they cannot f ind the ballot box leave their of the par ty they must ballot papers on and boxes the when the returning officer is changing in the boxes he would put the box of that the candidate.
case the 1:eturning officer could put the ballot papers in the box of the candidate he is supporting.

'rhat did not give the des ired secrecy of the ballot.

them In In this bill yiou n re g.oing to a~k an illiterate to mark .off t he paragraph with the 1iame which he cannot read and symbol which he is going to see.
It is not a party symbol b1irt an in di vidual symbol, so that in eac-h con stit uency candidaites would ha,·e t o get their :Supportexs to teach ,the illiter ates their r es1,ective symbols, wherea~ in the case of a party symbol t he whole Colony will know it.

Each Yater will be ,·oting for a candidate nnd not for a party, where:as we want to introdn-<2e and encourage the party system and to teach the illiterate how to rnte in a party system.
I therefore think that first of all Government shonld t r y to have party symbols in order that il- to bring literate rnters would be able t o say ''This is my party symbol," and that symbol will be known as such through- 01i·t the country.

At the same time I do not condemn Government in re spect of a symbol for a p articular candidate.

Ther e may be good r easons fo r that, bnt it doe.s not ca.rry in it the principle of ~arty system.
I s -the no vernment going ltegi1la tions in to force whereby t he names of candidates are going to be printed on the ballot pa,pers a0cording to the order of nomination?

If t hat is so, candidates or their supporters would be able to tell the illitera•te:s where to find their candidate's name.

If the names are so e11urnerated, a thi ck line should be pbced bet1Yeen them so ,that the il If literate can be assisted by that.
even the ,·oter s C'a1mnt see t he sym bols properly ·nor read the names, sup pol'ters wi ll be able to indicate to them where the name of their candidate falls.

I therefore addse or ·recomm,md to G.overnme11t that if they are adopt ing this system _as ad,·ocated in the Bill, they should take the nominadons as they come and place the names of the candidates in that order on the.

bal lo,t paper.

Uaudidates.

would see to it that their pro,poser s and seconders nominate them in the order t hey desire.
Mr. S1>eaker : T here form and the fi1·st nomination goes in the f irst place.

is a Mr. Lee : I have a form h ere.

T.he lines must be printed dee1Jer and so indicate d is1tinctly the nominations.

'!

'he printing should be such that the il!iterate can easily distinguish one candidate from the other.

1vlr.

Spe2 ker : The 1,on.

Member rneans "bolder lines."

That can be at •tended to.


1499 Representa,tion of !lTII JANUARY, 1957. the People ( A md_t.J Bill 1500 The Chief Secretary: May l in terrupt to say that cla use ;\;{ of the Lill provides that the names of the c~1 ndi clates on the ballot paper shall be in a l phabetical order.

After nomination day every candidate :will kn ow wh:~re I his pa11ticular name w.ill be on the baJloL paper.

The hon.

Member's point will be met that way.

Mr. Lee : I am Lee and there may be another Lee as a candidate.
Which one will be first?

The Chief Secretary: If the hon.

i\lember reads the bill he would see- to Mr. Lee : I am saying you have but 25 days run ,within which through your eleotoral distric:ts- say the Vreed-en-Hoop West Demerara Area-where you have a large number of iHiterates on the s ugar estates, and to educate those illiterates as to where y.our name will be on the ballot paper.

Would i t not be more advantageous for the peoil),le to know tha,t on no1nina tion day i\fr.
So-and-So was uomina ted first or second or last and ithat his name would be first or second <lr I do not think it is correct to print the names of candidates in alp,habetical 01· der.

l\Ir.

A. Lee will be p1·inted firnt and l\Ir.

T. Lee second.

In my opinion the names on t he ballot paper should be printed accordin g to t he orde1· of nomination because the illiterates would be able to say I am voting for the can didate who was nominated first oi second or last according to the number of -candidates·.
'!

'hat is my poi n,t in re spect of the ballot paper .1s it stands.

the ballot paper?

last on I do want to say that GoYernment should be careful that it is not said, ns in many instances in the ,past, that s ome of the polling booths were not sufficiently lighted in order to fac ili- to the such indicate expr2ssion secrecy of interference 1..ilc those rnters ·who could not see too ,Yell mHl had to go ont of _the booth in order to be able to see how to vote.

Of course, by Ro doing the presiding offi.


::er and those assisting cerrtain can clidate.s would either whisper or by f.1,·i..l those Y,.,;ers where the Yotes must be cast.

l ·uless a .person is blind the presiding t•tficer at a polling .station or his sub stitute should not interfere with the voter after he has been given t he ballot is a paper, as dolation of t he ballot.

Further, some of the pens pro\' icled at the polling booths had no nibs on them.
The booths should IJ"e proJJcrly equipped so as to be easily arnilable to the voter with out his having to leave the booth to return to the presiding officer.

What I ,rnnt to prevent is any contact betwee11 the voter and anybody after he has received the ballot paper and has gone in to tl1e polling- booth.
Therefore, in the Regulations it should be provided th.ct ,rhethcr it be pens or pencils or oLhcrwisc it shouid be so supplied that a votei- would have no cause to leave 1.hc polling booth before he has voted.

Mr. Speaker : The illiterate vot er 1Voulcl need no pen.

,,·hich require a Mr. Lee : Concerning the period of time allowed the candidate between h is nomination and Yoting day, Government ::;hould accept the fact that there arc arcao; t ime : inacces.,ible places in Kambia, Barima or the Tiupununi.
H nomination,; arc made on one day and a longer t ime is given for all the constituencies, then opposing parties or individuals can11ot shuffle thei I' candich,tcs as the opportuni ties come.

longer r ah;o want to draw attention 'vo the fact that under the old elections ...£,.._.. 1501 Representation of 9TH JANUARY, 1957. the People ( Amdt.)

Bill 1502 to make LM:r. Lee] law a candidate after his nomination .his was given 48 hours declaration and deposit.
That is not provided for in this Bill, and Govern ment should consider the wisdom of including it.

Even 48 hours were con sidered too short a time, and I re member a candidate· contending that he had to hire spec ial transportation and ti-ave!

many miles by launch before he could make his declaration befor e a Commissioner of Oaths.

We a re asking in this new provision that the can didate should make his deposit at the time of his nomination, but supposing a constituency desires to nominate ''Ml'.
A•· and proceeds to do so in his absence?

The re was one case of a candidate being n ominated while he was on holiday.

His attorney made the declaration and it was challenged in the Supreme Court that the law did not allow it.

Therefore I would like it to be definitely stated that an attorney properly constituted can make a declaration on behalf of his principal and can make a deposit.

This Bill does not state whether any body else but the candidate can make the deposit.
There is another point which should be made.

If a candidate must have an office in the const ituency in ,vnich he is f ighting the elections, then .h e must have a nother address some where else, because if his office is in the Rupummi he should not have to find himself telling election officials that his mail did not re ach him on time.

And how is the election officer to get mail to candidates in remote a reas on time unless h e retains a special plane'!

Perhaps he would not get a plane.


The candidate must have an alternative address within a postal area so that the returning or presiding offlcer can I a;n not saying post to him easily.

that he must not have trn addre~s in his constituency, but this is a prere that he should also have quisite: another address.
Because if a can didate does not get notices posted to him he can bring an election petition i:t' he fails to gain the seat, and in hearing a n election petition the court w ill con~icler knowledge of the can chelate 01· the person bringing the petition as I rcspectfu lly contend that prov1s1011 sho uld be made in the Bill for this.

important.
important.

Therefore, I have in my hand a copy of th•~ ,j amaica Representation of the People law, 1944, and I cannot find anything in it about the election candidate being required to make a declaration, but it does require that nomination should be made by 10 voters anu se<.

:onding accordingly.

Let me see if a declaration is necessary.

_Nomina tion papers are handed in, nomination takes place and the candidate pays his deposit of $240.00 (in my opinion the deposit should be more than that.
It should be, say, $500.00, and the nom ination would go null and void if there are irresponsible candidates playing with fire in contesting seats, because they woulct n ot be able to pay that amo unt) .

To my mind, the clause requiring declaration should not be there.

He is nominated, he pays his deposit within the given time; what is he to declare?

That he is over 21 and lie is a British s ubject?


When a candidate is elected he has to the Oath and make a declaration afterwards to the effect that he is a British Subject.

t ake Mr. Speaker : He has to take the Oath of Allegiance.

Mr. Lee : Why does he have to take it here if he has done so before'?

Is it because there are no contested ' .

J 1503 Represen.twtion of 9TH JANUARY, 1957. the Peovle ( A mdt.)

Bill 1504 seats whe n a candidate is allowed to say that he is not a bankrupt and so on.
The candidate would run the risk of being fined if he states, as a ~em ber, that he is qualified.

Now, the cand idate only has to say that and ,vould not have to satisfy any of the other qualifications at this stage.

Let us assume that there was no such declaration; if a candidate says he has n o qualification what is the Supreme In my opinion, this Court t here for?

is noi; question of disqualification necessary.

I Mr. Speaker : t h ink the hon.


Member should give some idea as to wh at his arnendments would be in Committee.

Mr. Lee : I have giYen some idea of that.

T h ey will ~·efer to the ques tion of 48 hours for the nomination of a candidate and the making of his deposit- and they will a lso refer to the swearing in of a Member.

Mr. Speaker: Will the h on.

:Mem ber submit th ese in writing before the end of the week?

Mr. Lee : I will do so, Sil'.


As regards clause 29, let us assume that a voter is registered in a village in \1/akenaam or Leguan but has gone to work on a grant in the interior where commu,1 ication could only be made by a direct method.

Is Government allowing sufficient time for s uch a vot e1 to cast his vote at another polling station?

In 111y opinion, however, that should be permitted by the Presiding Officer.
If a voter desires to trnnsfer his vote from one polling staticn to a nother on account of incnnv011i ~nce through h is employment, he should be to vote at a station other allowed than the one at which he is register~ ed.

Provision should be made for the neturning Officer to look at the names on the Voters' List in a case where u rnter finds it necessary to vote in a district or polling station other than the one fc I' ,•;hich he was registered 0.riginally.
I am not saying that a Pr'..)siding Officer should be allowed to give such an opport un ity indis criminately, but saying that every person should be allowed to el\.ercise his constitutional to earn his liveiihood away from his home.

I a m r ight in At the last elections many persons were unaware of som,~ of the certain difficulties w}iich arose .parts of the interior, and but for the c:1re a nd discretion exercised by some of the Returni ng Officer many voters ,,·oulcl not have had a chance to vote.
I hope that Government is making 1 he necessary provision to avoid these difficu lt ies in future.

They woald have been greater on the last occasion if some of the rangers in the interior had not resorted to the use of horses to help things out.

We do n ot want to hear of stones being thrown a t Gov ernment in future by way of aliega tions to the effect that the elections did not permit of the secrecy of the ballot and other democratic rights be I know of several in ing observed .
stances whe r e Presiding Officers com mitted breaches which could have led to serious conseq uences incl uding im if election petitions had ririsonrnent been brought.

If we desi r e to overcome the communistic methods that we a re likely to be up against we have to be very careful, because the persons those methods might do practising things to ofl'-c;et what Government has arranged.

I know the methods used by "orne of th ese persons, and therefore to know t h a t we should be careful avoid them.
150.5 Representation of 9TH JANUARY, 1957. the People ( A m dt.)

Bili 1506 Mr. Bobb: I rise just to make a few the Bill goes observations before the Committee stagG, at through to the ,vhich time Mc,mbers w ill have privilege t6 speak in more detail.

The first thing I would like to say, which follows on wl1at the hon.
Member has said with respect to the new method of voting, is that I did not expect that it would have been a matter of that the method of voting d ispute last genE:ral election used at system.

favoured only the party the a village election to suggest to an illiterate voter what he should do.

I just mention that in passing.


Those who will have the responsibility of choosing presiding officer s should exercise great care and ensure that they are as thoroughly briefed as possible, because as a r esult of the method of voting which will be employed a g reat deal of responsi bility will rest upon the presiding officers to instruct illiterat e electoi·s as to how they should pr oceed.

.,, ,.

t o adult illiterates .

That is beyond dispute.


The elec tors were simply t old on that occasion to vote for the symbol which r~pre sented the party.

It was very easy 3ufl' l:rut not essential rage.

Ad ult.
Ad ult.

suffrage gives every pe rson an opportunity to vote, and the the use of symbols is oniy for convenience of think that convenience w:,;, very muc-h abused on the last occnsion, and if we are doing anytl1iug to prevent :.1 recurrence of that ab::1se the proposal in this Bill a1)pears to be a very fair attempt to prevent it being committed should be candidate again.. Each elecLors symbol, and allotted should be t aught and helped w vote for the candidate of a party ancl not the a for candidates.
ine:::pedi\'C of party a I The other point I which to mate is more or less to issue a word of caution.

A great deai c,f re~ponsi - rest on the pr 0sicling hility will officers, and we can only hope that not only will great care be taken in the selection of presiding officers but that they will be very thorou g11 ly symbols briefed.
Apart ~ppearing on the ballot paper, the method of voting proposed is Jwac· t ica lly th e same as that u::;ecl in Yillage elections today, and one knows how easy it is for a returning oHie;er a·~ from the :~ 1: I that.

rather My last point is with respect to the period of time between nomination and polling.

In clause 14 ( 4) it is provided that a period of 25 days shall elapse between nomhrntion day I am not happy and polling day.
about the think period sho uld be longer than 25 days to give the greatest possible so as ease and convenience for everybody to be alerted in any part of the coun I wou ld have prefer red a p eriod try.

think uf ,JO days, in which everybody should be alerted, and there shou ld be no difficulty in over coming irregularities.

t ime I Those are the points which I wish tc, make on the general principle of the Bill.
I am thorough ly in agr ee ment wi th the basis of this Bill which does show our appreciation of the growing intelligence of the elec torate.

I do not think there is much in the Bill that will baffle or confuse anybody, especially as there should be a certain measure of tra ining and instruction by candidates.

fully endorse the new ba.si.s for the elec tion5.


I With those words of caution I have expressed with respect to village elections and p r esiding officers, I t hrough, ancf hope ther e will be no difficulty in cond uct ing the coming electio_ns on a mucp.

the Biil will go 1507 R epres-e.nta,tion of 9TH JANUARY, 1957. the People ( A melt.)

Bill 1508 high er stan dard than on the occasion.

last Mr. Correia: I shall be very brief in what I have to say on this Bill.
At the iast general election the polling booths were very poorly lit even in Geor getown.

Although at that time I cou ld see fairly well I know that in some of the boofrs it was very difficult to distinguish even the symbols.

therefore hope that this occasion Government wi il on take every precaution ~nd give in strnctions to the presiding officers to see that the booths are properly lit.

It is very important especially in the case of ill iterate people.
I It to that number is essential the ballot should be secret.

One could punch boles in his clause to show that the ballot paper is ll ot secret.

Form 17 that the counterfoil will indicates ca rry cones1Joncl a that at the back of the ballot with paper.

Does that arrangement ensure secret voting?

It does not.

Presiding officers do favour certain cand idates; ·when a that cannot be prevented.

voter goes to the polling station a constahle at t he door announces ·'John Jones, No.

17.".
17.".

The preswrng officer hands t h e voter a ballot paper the and inserts on voter's number on the list of voters In the subsequent cotuting "No.

17."

of the votes it is therefore quite possible for the presiding officer to discover .Tones" voted.

The method of recording the counterfoil voter's number on the does not make for secrecy of th e ballot.

I -suggest that instead of num ,;hould he beri ng, embossed.
th e iJ method employed in the Un ited King dom is the same as that proposed in If it is, then the ballot is this Bill.

the ballot papers I do not know the counterfoil for whom- "John not secret there.

A pi-esiding officer ne!.

!d unly to f ind out for whom h alf a dozen persons voted.

If I were a pre.siding officer I cou ld do it.


~-'ith regard 'fortnightly, and t(i the period be tween nomination and polling I think 25 da ys wou Id be reasonable in the ca~e of constituencies where t h ere :.ire good communil:ations, but there are at least Lwo constituencies where com municai1011s are very poor.

In some cases communication with Georgetown in other cases is monthly.

ln such cases a period of 2,3 d<t?~; would be very inadequate.
J think if i;llere is to be any exten th ere should be sion of 1:he period, one nomination day throughout the Colon~·.

I do not agree that in s ome cases n om inati.ons should be made two or three weeks before the day fixed fo1· nominations in other con ~titucncies, but that a period of 40 ,n 5,0 days between nomination and polling all constituencies.

sh'Juid be allowed for The hon .

Member, Mr. Lee, r e fened to cases in which voters leave districts in which they live and arc r cgisic1·cd.
to work in other districts.

r do not th:nlc there is muc h di fficulty in that l'espect.

At the last elect.ion there were many voters in my con stituency "·h•J ·were employed in other cl i str ids, but they we1·e ab I e to vote :for me by p:·ox:v. I As reg:nds P!ection expenses think there are a few constituencies i11 respect of which increased expenses should be allowed.
Take the Nortlt West District and the Interior Elec toral Districts a candidate may travel to and around those plar:cs by specially chartel'ed pla ne, but if he is to depend on the regular flights he cannot d o so in the 25 days allowed between nomi n ation and elc:dion.

He will have .

r. ' 9" 1W .• ,a;;; .. #t;PIQ ""C ··i *~ .--IJl,i ._..... 1509 Representation of 9TH JANUARY, 1957. the Peo-ple ( Amdt.)
Bill 1510 [Mr. Correia] to 1,t:sort to the use of chartered planes to take him to and around those districts.

I think a fair amount should be allowed for election expenses in respect of those districts.

names r eference to Before I take my seat , there is another matter I would like to refey to, and that is the ba llot paper.

I 3m speaking with il literate voters.


There should be no other printed matter above or below t h e candidates ilHterate person having because an been instructed to vote accord ing to the lines on the ballot paper may take in the other printed matter as a name or names.

There are a few other things I would like to speak on, hut I will take my seat and raise them in the Commjttee stage.

th e of Mr. Speaker: to put The Returning ,,n official mark Officer has on the ballot paper before a persoP can vote.
the hon.

Member suggest that no number even should the ballot paper?

It be put on assists in showing how many persons h ave voted.

Does he wanted to find out how a person had voted.

That would be an extra ordina1·y thing for him to do.

I have had a copy Mr. Correia : of the ballot paper (Form No.

17) sent me, and it is possible for Gov ernment to decide to include some thing else at the top or bottom bf Form 17.

I am just warning Govern ment that it will not be right to do so.
• Mr. Speaker: It would be a good thing to have the names of the can didates printed on the ballot paper ac cording to the order of nomination and not alphabetically.

That should be considered.

Mr. Correia: Even in an election petition a person's vote is considered Recret.

I do not see that it should be exposed.

Mr. Lee: The law gfves a Judge the r ight to see a person's voting paper.

My hon.

friend does not under stand it.

Mr. Speaker: Are ther e any other the hon.


Member desires to points Mr. Correia : The will show t hat number.

counterfoil make?

Mr. Speaker: That is the number of the ballot paper but not the voter's number on the electoral roll.

He marks on the ballot paper the num the electoral roll when the ber on person goes to vote.

The hon.

Member s uggests that the Returning Officet has time to see that number on the ballot paper when the person has v::ited, if he wants to.

Mr. Correia : No, Your Honour.


i\'lr.

Speaker: Have you any idea the amount that should be as to a llowed for travelling?

Mr. Correia: I think it shoulri be double w hat it is.

Mr. Speaker: Would any other Member like to speak ?
The Chief Secretary: The number iR on the back of the ballot paper and the Return ing Officers would have to turn every single ballot paper if The Chief Secretary: There a r e many points raised which need tu be considered, but every point made here today can be dealt with in the Com- 1511 R epresentaitipn of 9TH J ANUARY£ 1957. t ·.

"1e People's ( Amdt.)

Bill 1512 I mittee stage when we come to the parti cular clauses.
There are, however, some points that I want to examine s1!ggest that we pas:; the myself.

second reading and then take the Bill into the Committee stage and con tinue its consideration at a later date.

In the interim those Members not present who have points to put for ward can do so in vditi'ng, and I will be glad to con,,ide;- them.

Mr. Lee: I take it that in the Committee stage Your Honour will a llow other Members an opportunit~, to speak on the Bill.
Mr. Speaker: I shall ascertain from the other Members what sug gestions t hey have to make on the Bill.

'Those who are absent w ill be given every opportunity their ,,iews.

to express Question put, and agreed t o.

Bill read a second time.

LoCAL GOVERNMENT BILL (AMENDMENT) operative DeYelopment) : I beg leave of the Council to defer second the reading of the Bill intituled: "An Ordinance to amend the Local Gov •2r nment Ordinance" ir:.

<'rr.

"!r to ~i\•e an interested part:, some time ~{) consider it.
the Mr. Speaker: I have a note here that clause 3 limits the payment of compensation to an amount under the lVIagistrat.e's jurisdiction of Court.

You are making arrangement for payment where there is disagree ment.

If you limit the amount to the jurisdiction of the Magistrnte·s Court.

it is up to $250; but if you f eel that the amount should be $350, then it must go to the Supr eme Court.

QL,estion put, and agreed to.

Consideration of Bill deferred.


The Chief Secretary: I beg to move that Council adjourn t o 2 p.m. tomorrow.

It will not be a very long meeting.

Question put, and agreed to.

Mr. '.Farnum (Member for Local Government, Social Welfare a nd Co- Council adjourned to 2 p.m. on Thursday, 10th January, 1957.

---