Herbert Flintoft & Ors V. Nana Kwabena Wusu & Ors (1934)
LawGlobal Hub Judgment Report – West African Court of Appeal
Enquiry into validity of concession—ex facie order—Application for leave to oppose made before final order—Substitution of another application to oppose in representative capacity—Motion adjourned pending determination of Suit concerning interest of Grantors and Opposer in property the subject of the eow.ession—Final Order for Certificate of Validity made before hearing of motion or determination of Suit.—Section 27 of Concessions Ordinance wrong!y relied upon to protect Opposer’s rights—Se.-tio:t 12 (2) of Ordinance imposes duty on Court to ascertain proper persons to grant concession—These issues subject of Suit and Motion.
Held : Appeal allowed. Order for issue of certificate set aside. Remitted to Court below for determination of motion.
A. Case-Hayford for Opposer-Appellant. C. C. Carter for Claimant.
E. 0. Asafn-Adjaye for Grantors.
The following judgments were delivered :— AITKEN, J.
On the 14th of December, 1931 Mr. Herbert Flintoft, the claimant, for the sum of £50, obtained from the grantors a gold and mineral concession, now known as the Beposo Lands Concession over an area of approximately five square miles near Lake Bosumtwi at Beposo. Subject to the payment of a yearly rent of £12 until the commencement ” of winning of gold or crushing of
are ” and thereafter a yearly rent of MOO, the concession was granted for a period of ninety-nine years provided that the claimant Ads heirs executors administrators and assigns) observed and performed certain not very onerous covenants. Other advantages were thereby conferred on the claimant (his heirs executors administrators and assigns) which it is not necessary to specify, though attention may be drawn to his right to determine the said term of ninety-nine years at any time by giving to the grantors
six calendar months notice in writing in that behalf “.
Notice of this concession was filed on the 24th of December, 1931; the deed itself was duly registered on the 8th of January, 1932; and on the 25th of January, 1932 the documents on which the claimant relied in support of his right to the concession were riled.
On the 21st of February, 1933, the matter of this concession seems to have come before the Chief Commissioner’s Court of Ashanti,. Concessions Division, for the first time. The Court was then constituted by Mr. C. M. Barton, the Circuit Judge, and the enquiry was numbered 197.
The learned Judge ordered that the necessary enquiry into the validity of this concession should be held at Kumasi on the 27th of February, 1933, and we may safely assume that the provisions of section 11 of the Ashanti Concessions Ordinance were duly complied with.
On the 27th of February, 1933 the enquiry was held at Kumasi before Mr. C. M. Barton, Circuit Judge. After hearing the evidence of the linguist to the Omanhene Nana Osei Agyeman Prempeh II and of the Registrar of the District Commissioner’s Court at Kumasi, and after the concession deed itself had been admitted in evidence by consent, the learned Judge made the following order :—
” Certificate of validity in respect of Concession Inquiry ” No. 197 to issue subject to the following ” conditions :—
- A cadastral plan of the concession to be prepared.
- The Governor being satisfied that the financial ” circumstances of the claimant are such as to ensure ” that the concession will be sufficiently developed ” and worked “.
It is to be observed that up to, and including, that 27th of February, 1933 no application for leave to oppose the grant of a
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