After the proclamation of the protectorate, there had been a wholesale land grab, with huge areas of land bought for trivial sums and subject to overlapping claims that required adjustment. His review of land claims begun in late 1892, and as Johnston had no legal training, he relied heavily on Sharpe, as the protectorate did not have any law officers until 1896. Sharpe and Johnston questioned the chiefs named in agreements to confirm they had agreed to sell the land. They also tried to ensure that a fair price had been paid, but they placed very low values on the land, from a halfpenny an acre for indifferent land up to a maximum of threepence an acre for the most fertile areas. Most Certificates of Claim included a non-disturbance clause providing that existing African villages and farms were not to be removed or disturbed without consent from the protectorate government.