New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1898-07-31
WEST AFRICAN PROPERTY
LEGAL PERSONALITIES BY Wprcu
NEGRO LOSES HIS GOODS AND
CHATTELg

IA
own knowledge goes and as far as ex,a. ny
reading OF the works Of explorers In cn1s.Ye
and East Africa enables me 10 Judge - lA
same set Of ideas, and is dvsible into NE
kinds: /. Ancestral property connected a,,t s"iee
office OF headmanship-the stool AZ ~ ~" the
negroes call IL, the cap, as IL is called 10 uss
wreckage OF the kingdom Of KongO P" p" we
property, in which every member OF the ,any
has certain share. 3 Private proner,y amy
which Is acquired or made by a ma hI
womans own personal exertion that gaI,.I q
gifts, and that made in trade, by the exerois. "
superior ability Every one Of these fo,,a.
property is equally sacred in the eyes y, "a u
African law. we
The property OF the stool must be worL.,,
the stool. Working it well adding 10 /, IN
creases the importance Of the STOOL ana ~ W.
the king who occupies IL popular I'm, 80
profit made on it, like {; itself, belong. % ~
stool. No individual king or occupier q, s we
Workmanship can ALLEVIATE that property o. w'
personal advantage-hence comes ono ~, US
reasons why it does not matter much wbs,s we
II be freeman or slave who IL king M
same holds good for family property =.
for private property, which is the urstor ~
the Germans would call tout Of which or.
forms OF property spring, that is equally Leg
sacred in the African State DO not know 80
my own Investigations nor from any info,,'
ton l have CLEANED, any king priesthood =
man who would openly be able 70 interfere viii
the private property OF the verest slave 4, w
district or diocese or household. This NAV e.
a risky thing to say, but IL Is not; and 7 o.,
/ could make quite little fortune by ge,,ns
people 10 bet on il. Such an arrangement IL 1
possible in the columns Of The NOrnIno pos.,
however, so have TO sacrifice this gode, :,
portunity, and 10 reveal the secret wherehy'
should have won, namely, that when persc,,.
private property is taken, during peace il is a.
ways taken under the justification Of ts ben,
already forfeited. Doubtless ! should have "a?
if | could have arranged that betting trans
ton. dozens Of cases wherein people knew N an
kinds and conditions Of Africans having eve,r
thing they possessed cleared OUT by their ~
low citizens or owners: but investigation would
have shown that the individual so cleared ON,
had already reduced himself or herself ecslIy
10 a bankrupt before ne or she fell into ~
hands Of the official receiver
He or she-the sex is not behindhand In sufs
matters-had been convicted Of beu",cbio.
somebody. whereby il fell out that his or ne,
estate was forfeited TO the State Every form
Of property in Africa is liable TO be called on IA
meet its just debts, and the witchs debt Is
heavy one. For not only does the witch owe "a
the family OF the person for whose killing he n,
she is convicted the price Il that life but Il
felt by the community thai he or she has no,
been found out in the first offence. every mis-.
cellaneous afiliction that has recently happened
has been his or her work Mind you, ! do no,
say these claims are paid out Of the estate Of The
witch deceased-witches are always decease.
with the utmost dispatch by the au,horts
after cOnvction-because the said property has
by this time got into the hands Of Ofiiciado-
during the trial and has a natural tendency q
stay there. But one thing is certain about he
estate of a witch, and this is that none Of It's
left for his relatives. Not that they would .I
the matter Of that dare to claim IT, on acc0g..
of the fear Of being involved wiki him or D;
in the accusation of wltchcraft. Still, legally
tie wtch's relatives have the consolation Z
knowing that-if things go smoothly, and II th!
evade being accused Of completely in the crime
they cannot be called on TO meet the debts T.
Cured by the witch. The reason ot this delicsr
little point, | am ashamed 10 say. gave ne mCy
trouble to find out than it ought 10 have dor
for the explanation was simple. namely. that q,
witchs body had been taken over by the cree
tors.
According TO African Jaw. II you take a mar
lfe-or his body, dead or alive-in settleme.
OF a debt your claim on him is satisfied. Y.
have got legal tender for II. In any case. leg,
ly, the relatives can redeem, II they choose, q
man or his body b. paying the deb, of ~
interest-33l2 per cent is the proper West Ar
can rate Of interest, approximately. But VIA
set of relatives would wish to redeem a vito
a convicted witch. mostly in bits badly dar
aged and dead at that? No; Society has g.
him." say members OF the family, we haze
done with him. and are morally certain b
must have been highly llegitimate. FOR such
thing as a witch never happened in our inaI
before AS for involving ourselves by showing
the least interest in him we simply viii not Of
we shall get suspect,d OF being his aecompee:
and share his fate" OF course. il man or
womans life is taken on any other sort Of az
cusation of crime or malice the thing is d..
ferent. The family forms a higher estimate &
its lost ones value than you would have
dreamed il was capable OF possessing. and us
to screw that value TO the uttermost farthns
out OF the person who killed a kinsman. fS
that is on different footing from wtchcraii
and the worst society at large Will say Of yeI
is that you are fool to thing highly Of De
departed. whom il knew to be far below YOU
estimation of him. In the case Of your taking
a living man for debt he is a slave 10 you es'
not on the same footing a bought one ~
he can be redeemed by his family
In the case of taking a dead body snoths
factor is introduced. BY taking charge o.
corpse and burying il. you, il is true becor
the executor to the body's estate. and goo
deal may be made by an executor, but y.
make yourself liable for all the deceaseds "a
bilties This consideration makes YOU rass