Liberia: Description, History, ProblemsStarr, Frederick
History
Liberia: Description, History, Problems
Starr, Frederick
Liberia
In 1904 the British Government complained to the Liberian Government
that the Kissi were making raids into British territory in consequence
of a war between Fabundah, a chief of the Kanre-Lahun District, and Kah
Furah, a Kissi chief, and asked permission for the entrance of British
troops into Liberian territory for the purpose of repressing the
disorder which, it was said, threatened British interests. The request
was granted; British troops advanced to the Mafisso where they
established a post. In November the British Vice-Consul sent word to the
President of Liberia saying that the chief Kah Furah had been driven out
of the Kissi country, and that the people, at the invitation of the
military authorities, had elected a new chief, and had pledged
themselves not to receive Kah Furah among them again. The Liberian
Government assumed that the matter was at an end and that the British
force had been withdrawn. In 1906 Mr. Lomax, the Liberian Commissioner
for the French frontier, was instructed to proceed to this point; he
reached Kanre-Lahun in December, and found Waladi, a town in Liberian
territory, garrisoned by a Sierra Leone force. While Mr. Lomax was at
Kanre-Lahun, complaints were made against him by the Chief Fabundah and
others. These complaints were examined in the presence of Governor
Probyn, Sir Harry Johnston, Mr. Lamont, and leading military officers,
and Mr. Lomax justified himself completely, except in a single case
where damages of five pounds were suggested and paid. Later on, British
officers sent in complaints that the escort with Mr. Lomax were
plundering the country. It was impossible in such districts and under
such circumstances to prevent some petty thieving. Mr. Lomax, however,
accepted the complaints and paid the damages claimed. With a view to
permanently settling the country under Liberian rule, Mr. Lomax ordered
a local election to be held. Three chiefs were chosen--Fabundah for the
lower section, Gardi for the Bombali section, and Bawma for the Gormah
section. Fabundah, who before had been exercising jurisdiction over the
Bombali, was dissatisfied. The Sierra Leone authorities promised to
support him against the Liberian Government; they placed a frontier
force at his disposal for the purpose of ruining the chiefs who were
favorable to Liberian control or who had received commissions from the
President; efforts to arouse opposition and dissatisfaction were made;
Lomax was hounded from the district; the chief, Gardi, was driven from
the country, his town was plundered, and his brother made a prisoner in
Kanre-Lahun.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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