By TAMARA McKENZIE, Guardian Staff Reporter

The rich parliamentary legacy of The Bahamas will be highlighted as it celebrates its 275th year on Sept. 29. However, due to the damage left behind by Hurricane Frances, the level of activities previously planned would be curtailed.

"It would not be appropriate for celebrations to be arranged for the capital while so many Bahamians still suffer from the devastating aftermath of Hurricane Frances," said leader of the government's business in the House of Assembly, Vincent Peet on Wednesday.

Mr Peet said the "social" and "celebratory" aspects of the 275th anniversary have been suspended, but he is confident that Bahamians would appreciate the reason for their decision. He said focus has been placed on documenting the history of Parliament and filling in some of the gaps that exist in an individual's knowledge of Parliament.

"I believe that The Bahamas has a rich legacy of representative parliament that we ought to better understand and appreciate. We should not concentrate our collective energy on enhancing and enriching the parliamentary democracy that we have inherited," he said.

Mr Peet said parliamentarians would not allow the "historical" 275th anniversary to pass without some observance, and the following activities will take place:

* A joint sitting of the Senate and House of Assembly will take place on Wednesday Sept. 29 in the chamber of the House. It will be the only such joint sitting of both Houses of Parliament in modern times, which has taken place without Parliament having been dissolved or prorogued. Both chambers will pass special resolutions to facilitate the joint sitting.

* The House of Assembly in conjunction with the Department of Archives will mount an exhibition in the foyer of both Houses of Parliament, highlighting the first meeting of the House on Sept. 29, 1729, as well as persons and documents that served to ameliorate and then abolish the evil tradition of slavery in The Bahamas.

* A special book will be published by Jones Communication Limited, which will document the 275 years of representative parliament in The Bahamas. The 175-200 page book will catalogue the history of Parliament in segments of 50 years, and will become required reading for students and all Bahamians. The book will be made available to schools and libraries throughout The Bahamas.

* A series of informational booklets on the Parliament of The Bahamas will be prepared by the House of Assembly. The first of these booklets include: A brief history of the Parliament, the office of Speaker, how laws are made, the legislative process and a general guide on Parliament.

* A register of all persons who have served in the House of Assembly over the past 275 years is also being prepared by the House of Assembly staff. The register will include persons elected at general elections, as well as the hundreds of bye-elections that have been held over the years.

Mr Peet said the activities of the 275th anniversary would be initiated by proclamation that will be issued by the prime minister. The proclamation will be published in the daily newspapers, and will be read at the joint sitting of Parliament.

The youth of the nation will also embrace anniversary activities, as all schools in The Bahamas will observe the 275th anniversary by holding special assemblies at 9 a.m. on Wednesday Sept. 29. In addition, the head boys and head girls from each of the senior high schools in New Providence will assemble in the Chamber of the House for a student Parliament. Each student will have the opportunity to give his or her thoughts and reflections on the 275 years of Parliament.