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MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 
The most original feature of their law, that of succession, has 
been mentioned in the History, with the argument on which it is 
founded : it is universally binding ; the course is, the brother, the 
sister's son, the son, the chief vassal or slave to the stool. In the 
Fantee country, the principal slave succeeds to the exclusion of the 
son, who only inherits his mother's property, frequently consider- 
able, and inherited from her family independently of her husband: 
the daughters share a small part of the fetish or ornamental gold, 
which is much alloyed with silver. 
The sisters of the King may marry or intrigue with whom they 
please, provided he be an eminently strong or personable man ; 
that the heirs of the stool may be, at least, personably superior to 
the generality of their countrymen. 
The King is heir to the gold of every subject, from the highest 
to the lowest ; the fetish gold and the cloths are generally presented 
by him to the successor to the stool, from which the slaves and other 
property of the deceased are inseparable. The King contributes 
to the funeral custom to validate his claim, and usually bestows ten 
periguins of the dust gold on the successor, (if of a rich man,) 
who is in all cases liable for the debts of the deceased, though the 
amount is generally made good to him sooner or later, if he has 
influence with those about the King, or recommends himself to his 
notice personally. This law is sometimes anticipated, by a father 
presenting his children with large sums of gold just before his 
death, Boiteem, the father of Otee, one of the King's linguists, 
is known to have done so, but the son discovers his wealth very 
deliberately. 
The gold buried with members of the royal family, and after- 
wards deposited with their bones in the fetish house at Bantama, 
is sacred ; and cannot be used, but to redeem the capital from the 
hands of an enemy, or in extreme national distress ; and even then. 
