Annual report on North Borneo / Colonial Office.

  • Great Britain. Colonial Office.
Date:
[1947]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Annual report on North Borneo / Colonial Office. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    6/70 (page 4)
    as a reserve fund for Sarawak, Brunei and North Borneo. Additional assistance was also made available from a central fund for approved research projects. Various schemes were submitted to the Secretary of State, and approval was received for the visit of a geologist, and the appointment of a fisheries officer, a malariologist, a town planner, a veterinary officer and a drainage and irrigation engineer. Approval was also given for an investigation into the coal resources of the Colony. On the arrival in June, 1947, of the newly appointed Development Secretary, the work of producing a comprehensive plan dealing with the requirements of the Colony was pushed rapidly ahead, based on the principle that the cost of such a programme would have to be financed to a large extent from local resources and that priority must be given to schemes of an economic nature directed towards increasing production in the Colony. At the end of 1947 this plan was still in the course of preparation. It has since been completed and approved by Advisory Council and is now receiving the consideration of the Secretary of State. Economic Progress By the end of 1947 the pre-war economy of the Colony had been largely restored. In general good prices were received for agricultural products marketed abroad, which greatly facilitated the work of rehabili¬ tation, but this improvement was partly offset by a serious fall during the year in the price of rubber, which happily has since recovered. A brake on production generally throughout the year was the shortage of labour, the disturbed political conditions throughout South-East Asia making the formation of a definite policy for the recruitment of labour outside the Colony extremely difficult, but investigations into possible sources of labour continued throughout the year and are still continuing. The supply of essential commodities continued to show steady im¬ provement. In the early days it was considered desirable that rice and flour should be subsidised, but on 1st July, 1947, in view of the general improvement, it was decided to withdraw the subsidy. Through the careful conservation of stocks it was found possible gradually to increase the ration, especially for those engaged in heavy work. The Constitution In June, 1947, the future constitution of the Colony was brought under review by the Advisory Council, with a view to associating the people of the Colony more closely with the Government. Special emphasis was laid on the desirability of developing local government, and the proposals included the replacement of Sanitary Boards by Town Boards and, in the case of the larger towns, possibly by Municipalities. In certain areas it was suggested that there should be Rural Boards with similar functions. Hope was expressed in both cases that the ratepayers would be adequately represented, possibly by the introduction of the elective principle. It was also recommended that Native Authorities should be set up in order that the administration of the natives of the Colony might be carried out to a greater degree through their own people. It is hoped that these