§ 87. Mr. MARDY JONESasked the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he is aware that His Majesty's subjects in British West Africa are denied, in many cases, the right of trial by jury where criminal charges are involved, and that prisoners are tried by 250 assessors; whether the Criminal Appeal Act, 1908, applies to British West Africa; and whether he proposes to take immediate steps to place the inhabitants of this Colony on the same footing with respect to the criminal law as subjects in other parts of the British Empire?
§ Mr. ORMSBY-GOREThe procedure for criminal trials varies in the different West African Colonies and Protectorates; in some cases there is a judge and jury, in others a judge assisted by assessors, in others a judge or judicial commissioner acting alone. The Criminal Appeal Act, 1907, to which the hon. Member presumably refers, does not apply to any British West African Colony or Protectorate, but only to England and Wales. As regards the last part of the question, it is not clear which West African Colony is referred to, but it is not possible to introduce any greater uniformity than exists at present, as the conditions are so varied. May I remind the hon. Member that British West Africa includes primitive savage communities, native tribes, organised native States, Mahommedan emirates, and natives who have adopted European standards and modes of life, and that trial by jury would in most cases be quite inapplicable, and in others an unsatisfactory procedure.