52 [ No. 99 PRESENT CONDITIONS Native Administration.The decree of May 2, 1910, for the first time provided a code regulating the position of native chiefs, the State administration having left the matter wholly undetermined . The chiefdoms are determined by the commissioners, sub chiefdoms being established if customary. The chief will as a rule be the customary head of the tribe, but the commissioner may remove a chief and appoint another. All the natives must normally be attached to a chiefdom, usually that in which they were resid ing when the formal determination took place ; up to the end of 1911 , 2,700 chiefs had been recognized with nearly 2,300,000 subjects, and at present over 4,000 chiefdoms have been formally established. The authority of the chief is that which is possessed by custom , and it must be exercised in the customary manner (for example with a council if customary ) , but the authority is limited by the requirement that it must not be contrary to public order, or contravene laws or regulations intended to supersede customary rules . Though the chief is not hierarchically subordinate to the territorial administrator, he is subject to inter ference by the commissioner 3 or the administrator acting for him ; but it is the policy of the Government to limit such interference to cases where the chief acts contrary to the public order, the prestige of the Colony, or the general interests of the Colony or of civili zation . The chief has also other functions as a State official; he is required to co-operate in enforcing the law, in policing his tribe, in carrying out measures for public health, and in executing public works, and for 1 Cf. Cd. 5860, pp . 3 , 4 , 20-26 .

2 Cf. Johnston, George Grenfell, ii . 689 , 690 , 697-700 .

3 A class of native messengers acts as intermediary between the commissioner and the chief . Their position is open to abuse, but necd not actually result in a revival of the old practices . a