24. Mr. Creech Jonesasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies why certain paramount chiefs in the Sierra Leone Protectorate have been reinstated after their removal on grounds of corruption following the Cox inquiry.
§ Mr. Lennox-BoydFour chiefs who had been suspended from office pending inquiry following the Cox Commission were reinstated after full consideration by the Sierra Leone Government of all the circumstances, including the need to restore settled local administration.
Mr. Creech JonesMay I ask the Secretary of State whether it is altogether a wise thing to restore the authority and prestige of paramount chiefs whose conduct has been questioned, and who, in relation to their own people, are unpopular? Further, will the paramount chiefs take their places in the Legislative Council, and, possibly, one or two of them serve on the Executive Council?
§ Mr. Lennox-BoydThree of the four chiefs were exonerated on a charge of corruption. I cannot accept the view that the opposition to them represents a majority. I think it is very dangerous in Africa and elsewhere to create a vacuum unless we are sure what we are to fill it with. These chiefs, once reappointed, of course, can function in the proper way.