Federal Parliament of the West Indies Federation

Federal Parliament of the West Indies Federation
Federal Parliament of the West Indies Federation
Type
Type	Bicameral
Houses	Senate; House of Representatives
History
Founded	April 1958
Disbanded	July 1962
Structure
Senate political groups	Federalist (15); Democrat (4);
House of Representatives political groups	Federalist (25); Democrat (19); Barbados National (1);
Length of term	5 years (maximum)
Elections
Senate voting system	Appointment by the governor general
Last House of Representatives election	25 March 1958
Meeting place
	Port of Spain, Trinidad

The Federal Parliament of the West Indies Federation was the bicameral legislature in West Indies Federation from 1958 to 1962. It was formally made up of two houses, an appointed Senate (Upper house) and an elected House of Representatives (Lower house).

The governor general, on behalf of the monarch, summoned and appointed the 19 senators, while each of the 45 members of the House of Representatives represented an electoral district, and were elected by voters residing in the district. The governor general also summoned and called together the House of Representatives, and had the power to prorogue or dissolve Parliament, in order to either end a parliamentary session or call a general election.^[1]

The only election was held in 1958. It remained for 4 years until the dissolution of the federation in 1962. The official language of the Parliament was English.

Senate

The upper chamber was called the Senate, and it had 19 members appointed by the Governor-General of the West Indies Federation. There were 2 senators from each territory except Montserrat, which only had 1 senator.

Potential Senators must have met certain criteria before they could be nominated to the upper chamber. In order to be eligible for appointment, a person must have been a British subject of at least 21 years of age who has resided in the territory compromised in the Federation for the previous three years. A person would have been ineligible for appointment if they were in bankruptcy, had a mental illness, held an allegiance to a foreign state, had a capital punishment sentence, have been in prison for a time exceeding twelve months, or disqualified to be elected at the House of Representatives. Furthermore, a Senator could not have also served as a civil servant, a member of the armed forces or police, a judge, a public prosecutor, a controller, or a sitting member of the House of Representatives. Senators served for five years.^[1]

President of the Senate

The president of the Senate was the presiding officer of the Senate. He or she was assisted by a vice president who must have been a sitting senator. Both the president and the vice president must not have been a member of the Council of State.

List of presidents

No.	Name	Term of office		Party		Province	Ref.
No.	Name	Took office	Left office	Party		Province	Ref.
1	Allen Montgomery Lewis	1958	1959		Federalist	Saint Lucia	^[2]
2	Arnott Cato	1959	1962		Federalist	Barbados	^[3]

House of Representatives

The lower chamber was called the House of Representatives, and it had popularly elected 45 members, where five members were from Barbados, 17 from Jamaica, 10 from Trinidad and Tobago, 1 from Montserrat, and 2 from each of the remaining territories. Montserrat also had a privilege of an alternate member, who served as a substitute member in the absence of the main member. The requirements to stand for election were similar with the requirements for Senate appointment. However, the alternate member for Montserrat was forbidden to stand election as the main member of Montserrat.^[1]

Speaker of the House of Representatives

The speaker of the House of Representatives was the presiding officer of the House of Representatives who must not have been a member of the Council of State. Erskine Ward was the sole speaker during the existence of the Federal Parliament.

List of speakers

No.	Name	Term of office		Party		Province	Ref.
No.	Name	Took office	Left office	Party		Province	Ref.
1	Erskine Ward	1958	1962		Federalist	Barbados	^[4]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c "West Indies (Federation) Order in Council, 1957" (PDF). Digital Legislative Library of the Government of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago.
^ Lentz, Harris M. (February 4, 2014). Heads of States and Governments Since 1945. Routledge. ISBN 9781134264902 – via Google Books.
^ Grey, Ian (January 10, 1986). The Parliamentarians: The History of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, 1911-1985. Gower. ISBN 9780566051999 – via Google Books.
^ "Caribbean Elections Biography | Erskine Ward". www.caribbeanelections.com. Retrieved 2023-04-08.

[:0-1] "West Indies (Federation) Order in Council, 1957" (PDF). Digital Legislative Library of the Government of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago.

[2] Lentz, Harris M. (February 4, 2014). Heads of States and Governments Since 1945. Routledge. ISBN 9781134264902 – via Google Books.

[3] Grey, Ian (January 10, 1986). The Parliamentarians: The History of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, 1911-1985. Gower. ISBN 9780566051999 – via Google Books.

[:1-4] "Caribbean Elections Biography | Erskine Ward". www.caribbeanelections.com. Retrieved 2023-04-08.

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