Mount Thompson and Ramsey Commoners Rules (Cap. 152)

COMMONAGE [CH.152 – 7 [Original Service 2001] STATUTE LAW OF THE BAHAMAS MOUNT THOMPSON AND RAMSEY COMMONERS RULES (SECTION 11) [Commencement 29th July, 1961] 1. These Rules may be cited as the Mount Thompson and Ramsey Commoners Rules. 2. When a commoner is registered under these rules he shall pay to the proper officer the registration fee of ten cents at the time of such registration as a commoner. 3. When a commoner having felled land fails within one year to plant the same or having cultivated a piece of land for a period of years fails for three consecutive years thereafter to cultivate it, such land shall be considered abandoned and thereupon any other commoner may take possession of and cultivate such land. 4. No commoner shall cultivate any land within twelve feet of another commoner’s land cultivated or not without the consent of the commoner or commoners whose field or felled land is adjacent thereto. 5. No commoner shall burn any field within one hundred feet of another commoner’s land cultivated or not without first giving proper notice to the commoner or commoners whose field or felled land is adjacent thereto of his intention to burn such field or fields. Damages resulting from a failure to comply with this rule shall be assessed by two disinterested commoners one of whom shall be appointed by the party injured and the other by the party whose act caused the injury complained of and in case such arbitrators cannot agree they shall appoint an umpire to decide between them and the decision of the umpire shall be final. 6. Every commoner shall be entitled at all times to have free access to all natural watering places containing water and a fair use and distribution of such water supply for drinking and other purposes. 7. In case any dispute arises between commoners other than is mentioned in rule 5 in connection with the fields or felled land or any other matter relating to the use G.N. 157/1961 S.I. 49/1971 5 of 1987 Short title. Fee. 5 of 1987, Sch. Failure to cultivate land. Proximity of cultivation. Setting fire. Watering places. Committee. CH.152 – 8] COMMONAGE STATUTE LAW OF THE BAHAMAS [Original Service 2001] of such land a committee of commoners shall be appointed by the commissioner or some proper officer acting under his authority and in every case the decision of the majority of the committee shall be final. 8. Any commoner being disabled through illness or other sufficient cause may send his children or may be allowed to place some other commoner on a portion of the commonage with the right to claim the produce grown thereon by such effort but shall not have the right to allow any other person other than is registered to cultivate such lands for him or receive any of the produce grown thereon without being a party to the breach of this rule. 9. At any time subsequent to a date which shall be three months after which these Rules shall have become law any person not registered as a commoner shall be deemed a trespasser nor can he take action in any court of The Bahamas in respect of any lands of which he may be deemed the owner by virtue of cultivation except he shall have caused his name as that of the occupier to be registered by the commissioner or some person acting under his authority. 10. (1) No person shall carry on any trade or business upon commonage land in the settlements of Mount Thompson and Ramsey unless and until — (a) he is a registered commoner of that commonage; and (b) a licence has been given to him by the committee of the commoners in respect of that trade or business. (2) No person shall apply to any licensing authority, board or other statutory authority for any licence, permit or sanction required to carry on any trade or business upon commonage land in the area of Mount Thompson and Ramsey unless and until he has first obtained the licence of the committee of the commoners in respect thereof. (3) For the purposes of this rule, “the committee of the commoners” shall consist of the chairman and all the office-bearers elected or nominated for the commonage in accordance with section 8 of the Commonage Act. Illness. Registration. Licence of committee of commoners necessary. COMMONAGE [CH.152 – 9 LRO 1/2008 STATUTE LAW OF THE BAHAMAS 11. These Rules shall apply to all the commoners in the settlements of Mount Thompson and Ramsey. THE SAVANNAH SOUND, ELEUTHERA COMMONAGE RULES (SECTION 11) [Commencement 15th December, 2004] 1. These Rules may be cited as the Savannah Sound Commonage Rules. 2. To become registered as a commoner of Savannah Sound the applicant must be able to prove his or her direct ancestry to a Bahamian Descendant of the above mentioned settlement and must be residing in the settlement for a continuous period of at least six months prior to the application. Direct ancestry means a son, daughter, grandson or grand daughter to a resident Bahamian Descendant. 3. When a commoner is registered under these rules he shall pay a registration fee and annual dues. 4. A register of commoners shall be made and kept by the Family Island Administrator at Governor’s Harbour, Eleuthera. 5. There shall be an annual meeting of commoners of any land held in common on the first Monday in the month of December. 6. Meetings of the commoners may be summoned at any time by the Family Island Administrator, or by the Chairman or by five or more commoners. Public notice of any such meeting shall be given twenty four hours before such meeting by an announcement on a public radio station or on the community notice board, or by public announcements in the schools or churches. 7. The elected officers of the commoners or persons delegated by them shall comprise of the Land Policy Committee of the commoners. 8. (1) The application for land can be made by any registered commoner in good financial standing for residential, commercial, touristic or farming usage. All applications are subject to investigation by the Land Policy Committee. Application. S.I. 102/2004 Short title. Registration. Fee. Register. Annual Meeting. Meetings. Land policy. Land Policy Committee.