Colonel Ord appointed Special Commissioner to West Africa

In 1864 Colonel Ord was appointed Special Commissioner to West Africa with instructions to recommend how expenditure on the Gold Coast forts could be reduced. His appointment was precipitated by the rising costs of the Gold Coast settlements, which had grown from £5,000 in 1850 to about £12,000 in 1863. Ord's report contributed to the evidence before the Parliamentary Select Committee of 1865.