CO129-366 - Governor Sir Lugard Acting Governor May - 1910 [4-5] — Page 597

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seems to me is that the Governor should never appoint the

Attorney General to act as Chief Justice or an officer

who has acted as Attorney General to act as Puisne Judge.

The latter case very rarely occurs, but the Attorneys

General in this Colony have for many years past endeavoured

to establish a claim to act as Chief Justice. No definite

ruling has been laid down on the subject but the weight

of precedent is in favour of appointing the Attorney rather

than the Pulene Judge to act as Chief Justice.

In my view, and I think Sir F. Lugard with whom

I recently discussed the subject in another connection holds

the same opinion, it is as a rule undesirable to appoint

the Attorney General to sit on the Bench. Apart from the

question of objection to his possibly being called upon to

sit in judgment on cases in which he has previously advised

the Government it is at all times difficult to find in the

ranks of the Civil Service a qualified lawyer to take the

Attorney General's place, and it is obviously objectionable

to bring in for short periods a lawyer, or perhaps different

lawyers at different times, in private practice to act for

the Attorney General. There is the further objection that

if