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  maintain ­
  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  administrator ­
  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  punishment. ­
  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  Administration ­
  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.”