Growing acceptance of the advantages offered by the British presence in the Gold Coast lead to the initiation of another important step.

In April 1852, local chiefs and elders meet at Cape Coast to consult with the governor on means of raising revenue.

With the governor's approval, the council of chiefs constitutes itself as a legislative assembly.

In approving its resolutions, the governor indicates that the assembly of chiefs should become a permanent fixture of the protectorate's constitutional machinery, but the assembly is given no specific constitutional authority to pass laws or to levy taxes without the consent of the people.