ABSTRACT
Administrative Organisation. 5. To give e ect to the scheme of reform alike in matters of taxation and in general administration of a province some administrative changes were necessary, more especially in order to decentralise executive authority, which had hitherto been concentrated in the hands of the Emir and his head slaves on the one hand, and in the Resident on the other. Each province was now divided into three or four “administrative divisions,” according to its size and the sta available, and each of these divisions became the immediate sphere of an Assistant Resident under the general control and supervision of the Resident-in-Chief. e whole province was also to be divided into a number of “districts,” each under a “district headman,” who was responsible for collecting the tax from the village headmen (who, in turn, were charged with the duty of distributing the tax imposed upon the village among the individuals in proportion to their wealth and ability to pay). e district headman was also to be held responsible, for good order in his district, and it was incumbent upon him for this purpose to reside in His district and not at the capital. By this means it was intended to put an end to the system of absentee landlords, / which had been responsible for much, of the oppression and extortion. In future the district headman would be in close touch with the chiefs of towns and villages, and with, the peasantry under his rule, and in order that he might not become an independent autocrat, he was required to attend at the capital at least twice yearly on the occasion of the Mohammedan festivals, in order that the Emir might maintain his touch with the districts, and his con-
trol, over the headmen. e Emir could also send his messengers into the district (who, however, were no longer to have any duties in connection with the collection of taxes), and could, if occasion arose, summon the district headman to the capital. In order to check any extortion or abuses every village headman is to be provided with a statement in Hausa and Arabic of the amount at which his village is assessed. e villagers, on the one hand, could demand to see this list if their headman collected more than the authorised tax, and on the other hand, the district headman could not claim from the village more than this sum. In the event of any excess demand, village headmen and peasantry alike had a right of appeal to the Assistant Resident of the division. ese safeguards have been welcomed by the people, and it is reported that little or no extortion now exists. As the scheme becomes more and more e ective and recognised, I trust that extortion will disappear, and the maximum of administrative control, which is compatible with the machinery at the disposal of a Protectorate Government, will have been attained. e system here outlined is now in process of creation. In some provinces it is already in e ective operation, in others it is still being completed.
