The group is divided into 5 Presidencies, viz., Antigua (with Barbuda and Redonda), St. Kitts (with Nevis and Anguilla), Dominica, Montserrat, and the Virgin Islands (with Sombrero). There is one Federal Executive Council nominated by the Crown, and one Federal Legislative Council, 8 nominated and 8 elective members. Of the latter, 3 are chosen by the unofficial members of the Local Legislative Council of Antigua, 2 by those of Dominica, and 3 by the non-official members of the Local Legislative Council of St. Kitts-Nevis. In Antigua and Dominica the representative element in the Legislature was suppressed in 1898. The Federal Legislative Council meets, as a rule, once a year. The duration of the Council is three years.
The following table shows the area and population of the Leeward Islands:—
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Area: Square miles Population 1901 Population according to Census taken on 2nd April, 1911 Antigua Barbuda and Redonda . 108 } 62 \ 35,073 38,899 Virgin Islands 58 4,908 5,562 Dominica 291 28,894 33,863 St. Kitts 65 29,782 26.283 Nevis 50 12,774 12,945 Anguilla 35 3,890 4,075 Montserrat . 32 701 12,215 127,536 5,562 Total . 127,189
The principal religious bodies are Anglican, Roman Catholic, Wesleyan, and Moravian. Education is denominational, except in Dominica, where, with four exceptions, the schools are under Government control. In 1911, 121 schools; with average attendance of 12,237 pupils; Government grant, 4,536l.; 9 secondary schools, average attendance 300; Government grant, 1,780l.; an agricultural school, and an industrial school. In 1910 there were 6,802 summary convictions, and 49 convictions at the Circuit Court. Sugar and molasses are the staple products in most of the islands. The production of lime-juice and the manufacture of citrate of lime is carried on in Dominica and Montserrat. The cultivation of cocoa and of onions is successful, and tobacco and cotton, except in Dominica, are being successfully grown.
Antigua, area of 108 square miles; Islands of Barbuda (62 square miles) and Redonda are dependencies. Antigua is the seat of government of the Colony. There is an Executive Council, nominated, and a Legislative Council consisting of eight official and eight unofficial members. The Governor presides at both Councils. Chief town, St. John, 9,262. In Antigua in 1911 the birth-rate per 1,000 was 41.99; the death-rate, 32.07; of the births 75.11 per cent, were illegitimate; there were 160 marriages. Revenue (1911-12), 52,292l.; expenditure, 53,652l. Imports, 187,688l.; exports, 164,813l. Chief products sugar, cotton and pine apples. In Government savings banks 2,015 depositors, on March 31, 1912, 44,244l. deposits. There is steam communication direct with the United Kingdom, New York, and Canada, and the island is connected with the West India and Panama Telegraph Company's cable. Telephone line, 300 miles. Island Secretary.—H. E. W. Grant, C.M.G., Colonial Secretary of the Leeward Islands.
