§ Miss RATHBONEasked the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies if he is aware that discontent is alleged still to exist among the native inhabitants of the district of Some Agbosome, in the Gold Coast Colony, on account of the subordination some years ago of the Stool of Agbosome to the Stool of Awunas, which is alleged to be contrary to the customs and desires of the inhabitants; whether any inquiry has been made into this grievance and with what result; and, if no inquiry has been made, will he undertake to go into the matter?
§ Dr. SHIELSThe history and the constitution of the various Stools in the district in question were the subject of a very full inquiry in the year 1912, which was conducted by the then Secretary for Native Affairs in the Gold Coast, who was appointed a special commissioner for the purpose. In this inquiry the commissioner reviewed the past history and the present conditions of the various communities, and came to the conclusion that the Agbosome Stool was one of the subordinate divisions of the Paramount Stool of Awuna. That opinion has been maintained and acted upon by the Colonial Government ever since. The Gold Coast Constitution provides a regular course of procedure to be followed by a Chief who wishes to be declared a Head or Paramount Chief, and establishes a tribunal in the shape of the Provincial Council of Chiefs before which all such claims are to be inquired into and determined. So far as I am aware, the Chief of Agbosome has not made any such claim to the council.