Posted by Chester Morton / Sunday, 4 December 2016 / No comments
The features of Clifford Constitution of 1916
Introduction
The Clifford constitution was introduced by Governor Clifford
in 1916 to inject some reforms into colonial administration.
The Legislative Council
The Clifford constitution of 1916 made provision for the
creation of a Legislative Council. It consisted of twenty one members including
the Governor of the colony. There were eleven official members and nine
unofficial members, nominated by the governor and there was the governor, making
up the number twenty-one.
Out of the nine unofficial members, three were Europeans who
represented the commercial, mining and banking sector. The others were
Paramount Chiefs who represented the chiefs and the rest three represented the
educated members of the society.
The Executive Council
The constitution also made provision for an Executive
Council. There were five official members of the Legislative Council. The
Council helped in the formulation and implementation of colonial policy. It
also advised the governor on critical issues.
The Governor
There was also a Governor, whose position was provided for
under the constitution. The Governor was the one presided over the deliberations
of both the Legislative and the Executive Council.
PROBLEMS WITH THE
CLIFFORD CONSTITUTION
No African representative in the Executive Council
One of the problems with the Clifford constitution was that
there were no Africans in the Executive Council even though that was where
policies were formulated to administer the colony.
African outnumbered in the Legislative Council
Another problem was that there were fewer Africans in the
Legislative Council. It was the duty of the Council to make laws for the colony
so the colonial officials were able to pass ordinance even if the Africans were
not in support of the Ordinance. The simple reason was that the white
outnumbered the Africans.
Absence of the elective principle
Another ground on which the Clifford constitution was that
the elective principle was not applied in the selection of representatives into
the both the Legislative and Executive Council of the Gold Coast. The
democratic principle, where people who are ruled must choose their leaders was
not applied.
Influence of the Governor
The Clifford constitution was also criticized on the grounds
that the Governor had too much influence over them in the discharge of their
duties. This was because all the members of the Legislative Council were
nominated by the Governor so it was easy for the Governor to manipulate them to
achieve a personal goal.
Governor’s veto powers
Under the constitution, the Governor was given the power to
reject any Ordinance that was passed by the Legislative Council. The Governor
also had the power of Certification where he could force a law to be passed
even if the members of the Legislative Council thought otherwise.
Limited coverage
Finally, the jurisdiction of the constitution only extended
to areas around the coastal areas. It did not include the Ashanti and the
Northern parts of the Gold Coast.
SAMPLE QUESTIONS
1. a. Describe the features of the Clifford constitution of
1916. [3 marks]
b. Highlight four
short-comings of the Clifford constitution. [12 marks]
