CO129-348 - Governor Sir Lugard - 1908 [7-10] — Page 580

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had no opinion at all, but merely adopted the views of

*8 Solicitors', which views those @ Solicitors had aban-

doned, in consequence of the proposed re-discussion of the

whole scheme.

17. The spirit of hostility was continued to the end.

•

As I have said I intended to lay the whole matter before

the Secretary of State, and in order to complete the case

I was anxious to have the names of the Solicitors who had

to the Colonial dignitary/ signed. The letter of the Secretary of the Chamber as

discourteous to me, and was merely a contimation of the

secrecy which had characterised all the proceedings of

the Chairman.

But the Colonial Secretary's reply was conceived in the

some spirit of hostility to the Chief Justice which I have

draw attention to. The Secretary had offered to show the

names of the signatories to His Excellency the Governor,

so long as they were not communicated to the Chief Justice

To this the Colonial Secretary, replied that it was unneces

sary as there was no reason to doubt the accuracy of the

statement. And yet it was perfectly well known, that the

statement in connexion with the signatories had been

inaccurate from the first, had been irmediately modified,

and was modified a second time in the letter of the Chem-

ber of 19th February: and that this last statement might

probably require revision: as in fact it did, as it is in

fact inaccurate and misleading.

18 I replied to His Excellency's letter on the day it was

received 6th March. I was so annoyed at the whole busi-

ness, more especially at the hostile and unceremonious

attitude of the Government, that I intended to prepare

a minute on the whole question for submission to the

Secretary of State.

But further discussion took place between the Solicitors

and the Bar, which revealed a point of disagreement of so