succint presentation of the matter had somewhat puzzled them and 
they had several hypothetical cases to put before me. They had 
undoubtedly discussed the matter among themselves. Solokko, of 
Sembehun, voiced the opinions of several others when he asked if (1) 
the slaves a man had inherited would become free when the Bill 
became operative ; (2) if slaves becoming free through death of their 
masters would be entitled to squat on bush or land they had 
previously farmed without paying tribute to the chief or sub-chief ; 
(3) the difficulty presented by a child’s mother and father being 
slaves and the child itself free ; could it justly resist parental control? 
On the whole it was illuminating to listen to the views of these 
chiefs who had simply had the provisions of the Bill unaccompanied 
by any explanatory illustration. 
4. In Banta, Imperri, and J ong I found the matter taken very 
quietly, and the chiefs and tribal authorities willing to let the 
Bill and the gradual incidence of its provisions pursue its natural 
course. They seemed gratified and relieved to know that they 
would have the tutelary advice of the Commissioners when any 
difficult aspects of special cases presented themselves. 
5. Chief Seh Bureh of Bum, Bobo of Bumpeh, and Kenneh 
Koker of Bagbor exhibited very much the same attitude and put 
to me a number of questions principally referring to whether manu- 
mitted slaves were entitled to settle on land without paying tribute. 
All chiefs were in favour of retaining the freed slaves on the land 
providing ordinary tribute payable by an ordinary freeman was 
forthcoming. ~All chiefs and all elders whom TI interviewed * in the 
house ** were much impressed with the salient fact that no living 
owner was to be deprived of domestics now living during his, the 
owner's, life-time. 
6. T have yet to deal with Gallinas and some of the big slave- 
owning chiefdoms, but if the attitude exhibited there is even on a 
much smaller degree akin to the chiefs and tribal elders T have 
already interviewed we may, I think, in this Province anticipate 
no social, political, or tribal disruption, but rather the gradual 
and sure process of elimination contemplated in the provisions 
of the«Bill. 
I have, etc. 
H. Ross, 
Commissioner, Southern Province. 
Enclosure 4 in No. 6. 
Paramount CHIEF Bar Kowmea : Your Excellency, I want to 
speak to you, but I want an interpreter as I wish to speak in 
Temne.,