POPULATION
MARRIAGES
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All marriages, except non-Christian customary marriages, are governed by the Marriage Ordinance. Under this, notice of an intended marriage must be given to the Registrar at least 15 clear days before the date of the marriage. The Registrar has discretion to reduce the period of notice in special circumstances, and the Governor has power to grant a special licence dispensing with notice altogether, but this is done very rarely and then only in the most exceptional circumstances.
Marriages may take place either at places of public worship licensed for the celebration of marriages or at any of the 10 full- time marriage registries and four part-time sub-registries located in the main urban districts and rural centres. During the year 18,559 marriages were performed in the registries and 1,825 at licensed places of worship. The total was 1,416 more than in 1968. All marriage records are maintained at the principal marriage registry at the City Hall.
The Marriage Ordinance does not apply to non-Christian customary marriages duly celebrated according to the personal law and religion of the parties, and such marriages do not have to be registered. No statistics of such marriages are therefore available, but it is believed that the number has steadily decreased in recent years as registered marriages have become more and more popular. The position with respect to these unregistered marriages has long been recognised as being very unsatisfactory. During the year Government published a Bill containing provisions relating to such marriages, but the Bill had not been enacted by the end of the year.
STATISTICS
A new department to handle all government statistics was set up in December 1967. The nucleus of this department was made by fusing the Statistical Planning Office of the Colonial Secretariat with the Statistics Branch of the Commerce and Industry Depart- ment. It was not, however, until May 1969 that the two halves of the new department could be brought physically together into one building.