Dear Editor,
The Bahamas observed the 293rd anniversary of the establishment of the Bahamian Parliament on September 29 of this year.
I believe that 293 years of continual representative parliament is something that we all could be proud of.
Now for sure the entirety of the life of the parliament has not all been democratic. That is why I was careful to state that 293 years of representative parliament.
The representative nature of the parliament along with the consistency and regularity are features we can all value.
At this time when many countries’ democratic institutions are being assaulted, the Bahamian Parliament has been a beacon of stability and its commitment to free and open debate is unquestioned.
Some question the nation’s commitment to the Westminster system, but it is this system that expressly affords Bahamians stability.
The following are some highlights of the history of the Bahamian Parliament, most of which many of you are already aware of:
• Woodes Rogers, the first royal governor of the Bahamas established the Bahamian Parliament, on September 29, 1729 during his second tour of duty as governor.
• The first House consisted of 24 men, 16 from New Providence (eight from the Town of Nassau, four from the Eastern District and four from the Western District) four from Harbour Island and four from Eleuthera.
• John Colebrooke was elected as the first speaker of the House.
• Only white men who were British subjects and who owned specified amounts of property or rents were allowed to vote.
• Only the governor had the authority to prorogue or dissolve the House.
• There was no time limits on the duration of the life of the House.
• In 1795, the Septennial Act fixed the life of the House at seven years.
• In 1807, the Slave Trade was abolished and this led to the settlement of freed slaves in several communities in New Providence.
• In the 1780s, loyalists settled en masse in the Family Islands. By 1795, after years of rejection and opposition by the local politicians, the loyalists came to dominate the House.
• The loyalists fixed the life of the House to seven years; bought the speaker’s wig and gown; purchased the mace for the House; paid for the property where the parliament now sits and built the parliament buildings.
• On August 1, 1834, the Emancipation Act came into force and the British Parliament forced its colonial parliaments to adopt and pass similar legislation. The legislation effectively ended slavery.
The Bahamian legislative House reluctantly passed the legislation but subsequently passed legislation that forced slaves in The Bahamas to remain subjugated to their slave masters until 1838.
• In 1841, the structure for a Bahamian bicameral parliament was instituted when Governor Francis Cockburn divided his Council into two, the Executive Council and the Legislative Council. The Executive Council morphed into the Cabinet and the Legislative Council became the Senate in 1964.
• The secret ballot was first passed in 1939, but it was extended only to the districts in New Providence and only for five years.
• Milo Butler was the first person to be elected by secret ballot in The Bahamas when he won the by-election in November 1939 to fill the seat in the Western District vacated by Harry Oakes.
• On June 1, 1942, Bahamian workers rioted on Bay Street to protest the inequity in salary rates between Bahamian workers and foreign workers employed in the construction of two air bases in New Providence.
In two days of rioting, five Bahamians were shot and killed and many others were sentenced to lengthy jail terms. A House select committee was appointed and pointed blame on the existing salary inequities and on the actions of the government.
• The secret ballot became a permanent feature of elections in The Bahamas in 1949 when the Ballot Act was passed.
• In the 1950s, political parties were introduced in the House of Assembly with the organization of the PLP in 1953 and the UBP in 1958.
• In January 1956, Etienne Dupuch introduced a resolution in the House which expressed the wish of the House that racial discrimination was not in the best interest of The Bahamas.
• In January 1958, workers led by the Taxi Cab Union closed down the economy of The Bahamas for 16 days.
The general strike resulted in the British Colonial Secretary Alan Lennox-Boyd visiting New Providence and leaving a number of reforms for the House of Assembly to consider.
These included universal adult male suffrage, the establishment of a Department of Labour, the elimination of plural voting, and the introduction of four new constituencies in the heavily populated black areas.
• Real reform was made to the Bahamian electoral system in the 1950s and 60s. The 1964 general election was truly transformative.
It was the first general election where the entire Bahamas voted on the same day; it was the election that began the five-year parliamentary term; women voted for the first time in 1962; it was the first election where multiple voting and company voting were illegal and when the property qualifications for men were removed.
• The 1964 Constitution introduced the terms premier, leader of the opposition, the senate, the cabinet, the Office of Governor General, the Constituencies Commission, permanent secretary, among others.
• On April 27, 1965, Black Tuesday, Lynden Pindling threw the mace out of the window of the House and Milo B. Butler tossed the hour glass out of the window. These were in protest of the restrictive rules of the House.
• January 10, 1967, became known as Majority Rule Day. The PLP formed the first government of The Bahamas made up of a majority of black men.
• In 1982, Janet Bostwick became the first woman elected to the House of Assembly.
• In, 1997 Rome Italia Johnson became the first woman elected speaker of the House.
Sincerely,
— Maurice Tynes
