[citation needed] An earlier treaty signed by the Asantes in 1874, the terms of which were widely considered absurd and unenforceable, was invoked by Maxwell.

When the Asante king, Asantehene Agyeman Prempeh, could not meet the terms, Maxwell had him arrested, together with his mother, father, brother, uncles and a dozen advisors.

It reads: "To the glory of God in memory of Sir William Maxwell KCMG Governor of the Gold Coast Colony, who sacrificed his life to his unselfish devotion to duty.

In impaired health he undertook an expedition to the northern territories of the colony to extend peace and protection to slave raided tribes and contracted fever of which to the undying regret of all who knew him died on the voyage home.

A great advocate of scholarly method, he did much to draw attention to the material that exists, in Dutch and other foreign languages, for the proper study of Malay.