[4] Amendments to the 1912 Ordinance in 1924 and 1929 extended the powers of the Principal Headmen to hear civil cases under customary law, collect hut taxes and issue certain licences.
He sought Colonial Office approval to extend its use to unpaid work on road building projects, which would involve taking workers far from their homes.
Bowring resisted on the basis that he thought Nyasaland’s tribal organisation was disintegrating, and his tour of duty was cut short in May 1929 as a result of his opposition.
In the early 20th century, the view among British government lawyers in the Foreign Office was that the act of declaring a protectorate over a territory gave Crown the right to dispose of land there.
Compared with Northern Nigeria, where Lugard has pioneered Indirect rule, or even Tanganyika Territory to the north, Nyasaland’s Native Authorities were significantly underfunded.
This gave the Native Authorities very little scope for promoting social development, although some attempted to provide primary education, dispensaries, produce markets or rural roads.
[23] The Native Courts were cautious in using their powers under the 1933 Ordinance in criminal cases at first, generally fining offenders or ordering them to pay compensation to their victims.
However, in the post-Second World War period, a time of political and economic change, the Native Authorities were seen increasingly as imposing unpopular government-mandated soil conservation measures on their people.
[26] Although a few chiefs openly opposed these schemes, most gave at least minimal cooperation to avoid being deposed by the government, but tried not to lose support and legitimacy by excessive enthusiasm for the measures.
[27] By the early 1950s, Indirect rule was barely operating in many Native Authority areas and the political initiative had passed to the Nyasaland African Congress.
[32] As a result, under legislation introduced in 1953, most of the powers formerly held by individual chiefs were transferred to councils of which they were members and, usually, chairmen, and which included salaried employees.
Under the presidency of Hastings Banda, the chiefs statutory status and their ability to allocate land and development resources made them an essential part of the state apparatus.