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The following judgment was delivered by Hall, J. and concurred in by Deane, C.J. the Gold Coast Colony and Kingdon, C.J. Nigeria :-
HALL, J.
This is an appeal from the judgment of Mr. Applegate, Acting Commissioner, Eastern Province, dated 25th June last, reversing the decision of the Ga Manche's Tribunal which in turn had reversed the decision of the Tribunal of the Asere Manche.
Mr. Glover-Addo who appeared for the Defendant-Appellant submitted that this Court had no jurisdiction to hear this appeal on its merits inasmuch as the Provincial] Commissioner had no jurisdiction and referred us (a) to the order of the Provincial Commissioner granting conditional leave to appeal and (b) to section 77 (2) of the Native Administration Ordinance.
That subsection reads as follows :-
"Leave to appeal from a Paramount Chief's Tribunal shall not be granted unless and until the Appellant shall either have paid the costs in such Tribunal or shall have deposited therein or in the Court to which the appeal is being taken a sum of money sufficient to satisfy such costs, and such Court shall not grant a stay of execution with respect to the said costs."
Mr. Glover-Addo pointed out that prior to grant of leave to appeal the peremptory order set forth in the above section had not been carried out, and submitted that the result was that the judgment of the Ga Manche's Tribunal dated 28th July, 1928 stood of full effect. He also referred us to the record of appeal in order to show that he had called the attention of the Provincial Commissioner to the fact that the aforesaid section had not been obeyed but without avail.
Mr. Kojo Thompson who appeared for the Plaintiff-Respondent at first attempted to show on various grounds that the Tribunal of the Ga Manche had had no jurisdiction to hear the appeal from the Asere Manche's Tnbunal. He submitted inter alia.
(1) That the appeal to the Ga Manche was barred by the effiuxion of time in view of section 24 of the Native Jurisdiction Ordinance, which was the Ordinance in force at the time the appeal was taken.
(2) That in any event an appeal from an inferior Tribunal to a Head Chief's Tribunal must be taken within a reasonable period of time.
(3) That the Ga Manche's Tribunal having ordered certain conditions for appeal they had to be. carried out whether or not they were laid down by law as being necessary preliminaries thereto.
As regards (1) it is clear that section 24 0 the Native Jurisdiction Ordinance only applied wh