trade was generally protected by the king of the Trazars Moors.

From the formation of the settlement down to 1826 the total revenue collected was £21,263 75. 7d.

The expenditure was made under two heads"Public Buildings" and "Salaries not provided for under Parliamentary Vote." The expenditure could only absorb half of the revenue; in 1825 it amounted to £1,426 15s. od. At this time there were several appointments not yet filled up. In 1826 the expenditure exceeded the receipts by £1,251 18s. 9d. This was due to the erection, in 1820, of the Government House.

GOVERNMENT AND ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE

The earliest regulations on this subject date as far back as 1818, when, by a Commission issued by Sir Charles Macarthy, "a Settlement Court," with powers to make ordinances for peace, welfare, and good government, was constituted. These laws were in conformity with the laws of England and the enactments of Sierra Leone, and were transmitted within six months for the approval of the Governor of Sierra Leone.

The court consisted of the Commandant or, in case of his death or absence, of the next military officer, and five merchants, three of whom formed a quorum.

In case, however, there were less than five members in the settlement, the Commandant was empowered to select from the respectable inhabitants the number to give the full complement, and, if necessary, to suspend any member, pending the

Governor's pleasure. This court also constituted a Court of Requests and also a criminal tribunal, with limited jurisdiction to punish by fines, or imprisonment not exceeding three months.

In 1818 the court was empowered by a warrant of the Governor to hold Quarter Sessions, as a Court of Oyer and Terminer, under the presidency of the Commandant. But this court was abolished by the Charter of 1821. In 1822 a Court of Common Pleas was established, of which one of the merchants was judge, assisted by two assistant judges, from which an appeal lay to the Governor and Council of Sierra Leone.

In 1824 Acting-Governor Hamilton, by a Commission, appointed the Commandant and eight merchants Justices of the Peace, and empowered them, or any two of them, to hold Jury Courts for the trial of all felonies. This Commission provided that when there was a difficulty or disagreement judgment was to be deferred unless presided over by the Chief Justice or other judge of Sierra Leone. In 1825 Major-General Turner revoked this Commission, leaving the members mere Justices of the Peace and Commissioners of Requests.

CHAPTER XXVII.

THE SETTLEMENTS ON THE GOLD COAST

OWING to many unfavourable reports of the Governors of Sierra Leone and the unsatisfactory results, produced by the settlements on the Gold Coast, it was decided, about the month of March, 1827, that the interests of Great Britain did not require that any civil government should be kept up there any longer or that the garrison should be maintained.

In order to give some definite idea of these settlements, it would be well to state what they were and give a brief description of them as they were just at the time when they were ordered to be evacuated.

The settlements then in occupation by the British Government were Dixcove, Cape Coast, Anamaboe, and Accra.

Dixcove is situate in a small bay, from which it derives its name. With the exception of El Mina, the harbour of Dixcove affords the greatest facility for shipping along the whole line from Appolonia to the Volta, the surfs running high at all times. It was formerly famous for the palm oil, timber, and lime industry.

On Sir Neil's arrival there in September, 1826, a party of troops which had held the fort was withdrawn. This fort was a small stonework, ill adapted to the effects of the climate. The position itself was open to objections in point of military tactics.

There was only one European building there, and the owner was then residing at Whydah, on the coast of Dahomey. The population appeared to have numbered about this time some 1,500 to

2,000.

Cape Coast Castle.-This was the principal British settlement upon the Gold Coast, and is about sixty miles east of Dixcove. It consisted, apart from the military buildings, of about fourteen stone houses and a large number of country houses. These stone houses belonged to the officers of the late African Company, European and Native. They were comfortable and commodious, valuing, each, £1,500 to £2,500. Of the latter houses, some belonged to coloured people in the pay of the establishment, and the rest to the Natives of the soil, who were ruled by a king. They were generally two-storied, built of clay, and generally neat and durable.

The census of 1824 returned the population at 5,000.

As regards the Castle at Cape Coast, it is so contiguous to the sea that the surfs are constantly breaking upon it; it is always damp, hence the buildings deteriorate, and are in consequence subject to constant repairs. As far back as 1770 the average annual expense for repairs of this castle for six years down to 1776 amounted to £2,600.

The buildings belonging to the Government at Cape Coast were those within the Castle, consisting of what before were apartments of the late African Company, quarters for soldiers, and warehouses for goods.

The white troops were removed by Major-General Sir Neil Campbell upon his visit to the Settlements in 1826. Among other reasons assigned for this measure was the difficulty of provisioning them with fresh supplies, as that was assigned as one of the causes of the casualties among the troops in previous years.

Besides the fort, other buildings were hired for Government use-one for a hospital, two for schools, and one as quarters for police. There was no building exclusively appropriated for public worship until the arrival of Sir Neil, when an apartment in the barracks, originally intended for a chapel, was repaired and selected for this purpose.

Population. The population of Cape Coast at this time consisted of Europeans, a few Liberated Africans, a number of people who had been slaves belonging to the African Company, and the Natives. The European population was small, and consisted of four officers of the Civil Government, five merchants, and two or three others connected with them.

The few Liberated Africans consisted of the remnant of those whom Commodore Mends had landed there in 1823 owing to the prevalence of disease amongst them on board. Out of 214 persons only sixty-five could be accounted for, the rest having died. In 1826 only six of them were