ELIZABETH WELSING v. YAO DATE, Successor to JOSEPH THEOPHILUS MENSAH, Late of Aburi

Judgment:

This is a case in which the Plaintiff claims against the Defendant as successor to Joseph Theophilus Mensah, deceased, the sum of £342, for ase and occupation by the said deceased during his lifetime, and by the Defendant, as his successor, of land situated in Aburi at the junction of the Accra road, on which the said deceased is alleged during his lifetime, thy the permission of the Plaintiff, to have erected a building which is in the possession of the Defendant as such successor as aforesaid.

It is admitted that the said building was erected on land originally acquired by the Basle Mission Society.

To enable a proper appreciation of the facts to be obtained, it will Be helpful to set out at once how such land was dealt with by the Basle Mission Society. It is clear from the evidence that the Basle Mission Society, which is one of the oldest missionary Societies in the Gold Coast, acquired land on which members of the Society could settle, and live together. They acquired this land a great many years ago. This land was granted by the Society to its members, and they could erect buildings on it, and carry on their ordinary occupations from such buildings. They were disturbed in their possession of such land and buildings as long as the were members, and when the original member of the Society died, this widow, and children, if they were members of the Society, were allowed the continue in occupation of same. The Society had the right to take away such land or building, if they thought fit, but their practice, when such occasions arose, was to allow the dispossessed members another portion of their land as compensation. The aim of the Society was to the members housed together as a Christian community. In the case of non-members of the Basle Mission, permission to live and erect buildings on such land could not be granted to them without the authority of the governing body of the Basle Mission, as represented by the Secretary, and Chairman, of its Council.

If the aims of the Basle Mission Society, who were the owners of the and were to be carried out, it will readily be seen that if an original member could lease out his land to outsiders, without control of the governing body of the Society, the use of land which had been granted for a specific purpose, would soon be alienated from such purpose. The Mission, amongst other things, were inflexible in the rule that abacco and spirits should not be sold on premises belonging to them.

Now let us