12 
COLONIAL REPORTS—MISCELLANEOUS. 
the position of the Government as suzerain, whose sanction is 
required for all appointments, shall be recognised. This would 
prevent the arbitrary deposition of holders, or the surreptitious 
receipt of bribes or presents by Emirs. Other Residents main 
tain that the kurdin sarauta should be abolished altogether,while 
some desire to allow it to remain a perquisite of the chief not 
to be shared by Government. For the present I have allowed 
Residents to follow their own discretion in accordance with the 
tradition or circumstances of their province. From the point of 
view of taxation the matter is negligible. The total reported 
as assigned to Government is £130 only. 
Other Taxes (Unauthorised.) 
11. There remain one or two sources of income to Emirs 
in which Government has no share : 
(a) the (jado, or death duties. By Koranic law the adminis 
trator of an estate takes one-tenth of the property dealt with 
as his fee. This is separate from the death duties which 
accrue to the Emir, and I see no reason to interfere with 
the sanction of the religious books. Apart, however, from 
the administration fee, a sum which varies in different 
emirates is appropriated by the Emir, and intestate estates, 
to which there is no heir, also, I think, lapse to him. t 
had collected a considerable amount of information upon this 
difficult subject, with which I had intended to deal shortly, but 
at present I have directed Residents not to interfere with the 
existing custom and the gado, therefore, still remains a source 
of income to Principal chiefs. By some of the most influential 
it is considered to be illegal, and contrary to the Koran, and the 
Emir of Kano, who would derive by far the largest income of 
any chief in Nigeria from it declines to accept it. (b) Gaisua, 
or presents made by chiefs visiting the capital, or on the occasion 
of the Mohammedan festivals, &c. These are purely voluntary. 
Their omission could no longer result in the deposition or 
punishment of the person concerned, since an adequate reason 
would have to be assigned to the Resident for any such punish 
ment. The custom of giving presents to all guests and strangers, 
to superiors, and at festivals, is one which is ingrained in the 
native mind. Omission is tantamount to intentional insult. 
No protest on my part could induce Emirs to forgo this mark 
of courtesy if I visited their town, and the proceeds of such 
presents were, therefore, either converted into a return present 
of equal value or credited to Government. This, therefore, 
remains a source of income to principal chiefs, and the Admin 
istration only interferes to the extent of insisting upon their 
voluntary nature, (c) In some provinces fines, and fees of 
Native Courts, especially of the Emir’s Court, go in part to the 
Emir. In others, as in Sokoto and Kano, the Emirs refuse to 
accept any such fines and fees, saying that “ justice is from God, 
and no man may accept any emolument for administering it.”